DETROIT -- A.J. Hinch has never gone an entire season as a Major League manager without getting ejected from a game. He was three outs away from a career first when Zach McKinstry's drive Sunday sent White Sox right fielder Dominic Fletcher to the fence.

¡°I saw the replay,¡± McKinstry said. ¡°It looked like it hit the wall.¡±

Fletcher¡¯s reaction looked a bit nonchalant for a highlight over-the-shoulder catch, and a replay showing him juggling the ball heading into the wall led the Tigers to challenge. After replay review, the call stood, but Hinch did not. Knowing arguing a replay review meant an automatic ejection, he had his say in a heated exchange.

¡°I just told them: I understand the automatic ejection, but they took a hit away from Z-Mac,¡± Hinch said after the Tigers¡¯ 9-5 loss to close their regular season at 86-76. ¡°I thought it was pretty clear that it hit the wall. Maybe they didn¡¯t have the right angle, but you could see by the reaction of the right fielder, and I just thought it was an injustice. He deserved a hit.

¡°Who knows how that inning goes, but defending our team and defending Z-Mac, that was easy.¡±

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It was a defense that was never going to change anything, except maybe his team¡¯s mindset.

¡°Every out counts,¡± McKinstry said. ¡°That¡¯s how we play the game. That¡¯s how we¡¯ve played it all year, and that¡¯s how we¡¯re going to keep playing.¡±

For two days since the Tigers clinched their first postseason berth in 10 years on Friday night, Hinch talked about playing with the same edge that helped fuel the late-season run that earned them an American League Wild Card spot and a matchup against Houston in the AL Wild Card Series beginning Tuesday.

He talked before Sunday¡¯s game about getting that momentum back, but five White Sox runs off starter Kenta Maeda left them playing catch-up for most of a damp, cloudy afternoon. Kerry Carpenter¡¯s second career grand slam brought them back within a run and ignited another sellout crowd, but the momentum was short-lived.

Sunday¡¯s loss, combined with a Royals win in Atlanta, punched the Tigers¡¯ ticket to Houston rather than Baltimore. But Hinch was more focused on his own team.

¡°With this team, every day is a test,¡± Hinch said, ¡°and you have to learn something every day. And I think we¡¯ve learned a couple things the last couple days. Obviously, you can¡¯t play careful. We play a little careful and the game shifts a little bit, and you take a little bit of strategy away from what you¡¯re trying to accomplish saving pitching or getting guys some extra at-bats, and playing just a little off of what the last 160 games have been. You learn something a little bit.¡±

From openers and bulk pitchers to pinch-hitters to extra bases, the Tigers played playoff-style baseball for the better part of seven weeks. Once they earned a playoff spot, they struggled to re-create that. Strategically, the Tigers used Sunday to get Maeda, Casey Mize and Keider Montero some work and rest their leverage relievers ahead of Tuesday¡¯s series opener. Emotionally, the intensity was there in spots but then flickered off.

¡°I think we¡¯ll reset and be completely ready to go on Tuesday,¡± Hinch said. ¡°And when you get to the playoffs, that margin shrinks, the margin between teams. They¡¯re going to look out at Tarik Skubal. We¡¯re going to look out at whoever. But everybody changes, and you¡¯ve got to be ready. We will be.¡±

The Tigers seem ready to back Skubal -- the AL's pitching Triple Crown winner.

¡°I don¡¯t think we necessarily took our foot off the gas, even though it probably looked like that,¡± Carpenter said. ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone was going out there with their foot off the gas. We know that there¡¯s a sense of urgency and you have to play your best to win these games. We¡¯ll be ready.¡±

They arrived at Comerica Park on Sunday morning with their bags at their lockers but without a destination. As they filed out Sunday evening, heading to Houston, they knew they wanted to come back to Detroit for a home game in the Division Series in eight days.

¡°I¡¯d love it,¡± Skubal said. ¡°I really would love it. How do we do that? We¡¯ve gotta beat Houston.¡±