Tigers turn 'pitching chaos' into a recipe for postseason success

October 3rd, 2024

HOUSTON -- The question came up to before Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series: How have the Tigers so effectively embraced the ¡°pitching chaos¡± that manager A.J. Hinch has deployed since mid-August?

¡°Not knowing when [you're] going to get called, it is chaos at times,¡± Brieske said. ¡°So you try to just be ready. The thing that I always tell myself is, ¡®You've got to trust that if your name's getting called, there's a reason for it and you're the guy for the situation. You've got to go out there, do your job and that's it. You don't try to make it more than what it is, and you just trust that the next guy's going to pick you up and there's a plan.' It's not just randomness.¡±

Brieske was in the interview room in lieu of a Game 3 starter because, well, the Tigers didn't have one. Brieske was coming off a two-out save in Game 1 on Tuesday afternoon that included two pitches at 100 mph.

Hours later, as the Tigers celebrated a 5-2 comeback win over the Astros to clinch a Wild Card Series sweep and punch their ticket to the AL Division Series, -- whose double-play grounder against Kyle Tucker in the seventh was arguably the biggest outs of the game -- was asked the same question.

¡°With this team, it comes down to two things: Trust and belief,¡± the lefty said. ¡°If you can trust you're being put in the right spots and you believe like the staff does, you believe that you're the guy for that job, then it just becomes pretty black and white. It becomes: 'Can I just do my job and help us win this ballgame?'

¡°You have to trust you're there for the right reasons, and you have to believe you're good enough to get the job done. Those are things we reiterate every day. Lots of affirmation, lots of support.¡±

That¡¯s how the Tigers took down the AL West champions and postseason veterans in Game 2, quieting a lineup of proven performers and ending Houston¡¯s run of seven consecutive trips to the AL Championship Series. It¡¯s also how the Tigers believe they can keep it going heading into their best-of-five ALDS against Cleveland starting Saturday afternoon.

The Guardians played the Tigers 13 times in the regular season, but not since July 30 -- the day Detroit traded Jack Flaherty and threw its rotation into flux. Six Tigers pitched that day, starting with Tyler Holton, in a 5-0 loss that dropped Detroit five games under .500.

The Tigers were just getting a hang of this at that point. After an August meeting in which Hinch challenged his players by asking what kind of team they wanted to be, they got what Hinch has repeatedly called the buy-in.

¡°Buy-in's not for free. You've got to get players to understand the bigger goal,¡± Hinch said. ¡°You've got to get players to understand how we're going to maximize their strengths. You've got to have players that will give up something in order for them to -- for another person to have an opportunity. That's on the mound, that's on defense. It's certainly on offense today.

¡°If you can switch the psyche and maybe take a tick of the pride and ego out of it, anything's possible. You can make decisions that put guys in a position to be successful.¡±

For all the intrigue over the Tigers¡¯ pitching mix for Game 2, it revolved around Tucker and Yordan Alvarez, the left-handed sluggers at the heart of Houston¡¯s lineup. Hinch wanted to match up against them each time the lineup turned over, preferably with a lefty. Take that priority, add some consideration for right-handed hitter Jose Altuve ahead of them, and build from there.

¡°Controlled chaos,¡± Guenther called it.

Seven Tigers pitchers combined for 27 outs; none recorded more than five outs. Even left-hander Brant Hurter, the closest Detroit came to a bulk pitcher, faced just eight batters before giving way to Brieske to face Altuve with a runner on in the fifth.

Brieske recorded five outs on 14 pitches. He was the only right-hander Tucker faced all series, and he retired him by spotting a 99 mph fastball on the outside corner to end the fifth and keep the game scoreless.

¡°No matter what role you're coming out in or what type of game you're pitching in, it's always important,¡± Brieske said. ¡°There's no innings that aren't important in the grand scheme of things.¡±

No Astros hitter faced the same pitcher twice. The one hiccup was No. 2 prospect Jackson Jobe, whose seventh inning began with a hit batter and unraveled with back-to-back singles and a fielder¡¯s choice, but Guenther picked him up.

¡°It creates challenges as a team, because you're getting to see different arms, different angles, different stuff, different situations of the game,¡± Astros manager Joe Espada said. ¡°You could come up with men in scoring position, with bases empty. You have to adjust. We were a hit away the last two days from taking the series. But baseball, you tip your hat to them and you move forward.¡±

So do the Tigers, who are likely to use a similar plan in the best-of-five Division Series. The Guardians are tougher to match up against, particularly with switch-hitters Jos¨¦ Ram¨ªrez, Angel Mart¨ªnez and Brayan Rocchio. But with an off-day Sunday between the series opener and Game 2 on Monday, and Tarik Skubal likely to pitch the latter, Hinch can deploy relievers with less worry for rest.

¡°Who knows what we're going to do,¡± Hinch said. ¡°One of our things that we pride ourselves in is that we're unpredictable, and our players buy into that leading to success. When you find some success, you win a couple series, you perform on the highest stage, that strengthens that belief that we're going to try to chase every strength we can.¡±

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com