CLEVELAND — Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch has been in the postseason in six of his 12 seasons as a skipper, so he’s no stranger to the pressure of elimination games.
“I think what it teaches you is that it’s still a 27-out game and you’ve got to use all of them,” Hinch said before the decisive Game 3 against the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday afternoon. “Both teams are going to face some adversity at some point during the day. It’s going to a bad hop. It’s going to be a bloop hit. It’s going to be a walk.
“Something is going to happen where the nervousness and anxieties increase, and the game goes on. So you’ve got to be able to weather a few punches from the other side, and you’ve got to be able to deliver a punch of your own a time or two. I’ve seen games where you get the lead and hold on. I’ve seen games with dramatic finishes and everywhere in between.”
Tork’s status
When Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson was spotted leaving the clubhouse with an athletic trainer after Wednesday’s game, most assumed it was because he was hit by a pitch on his arm in the ninth inning.
In fact, it was related to an early at-bat when he fouled a ball off his foot.
“Out of precautionary reasons, we got it checked out,” Hinch said. “Originally, when I sat in here (after the game), I thought they were (looking at) his arm and hand. He got like a bank shot off his forearm and his hand. Neither of those were of any concern.
“There wasn’t great concern on the back foot other than he started to bruise a little bit, so they got it checked out. Everything’s fine.”
What time?
Many Tigers went to bed not knowing if Thursday’s game would be played at 1:08 p.m. or 3:08 p.m.
If the Cincinnati Reds had upset the Los Angeles Dodgers late Wednesday night, all four Wild Card Series would have gone to three games, meaning the Tigers would have played a third straight game in the early-afternoon slot.
As it turned out, the Dodgers won and the Tigers got pushed to 3:08 p.m. But they didn’t know officially until 12:09 a.m.
“It was interesting going to bed. I had two alarms set, whether I had to wake up for a 1:00 game or a 3:00 game,” Kerry Carpenter said. “We figured it out in the middle of the night, realizing we were playing at 3:00. It was weird going to bed last night, not knowing when we were playing. But it was not too big of a difference.”
Hinch said he tried to keep his players informed.
“When I originally sent out the lineup to the guys, I gave them the scenarios. When the Dodgers got out to a lead, I wanted to press send on the 3:00 game, but Cincinnati came back and made it close.
“We couldn’t commit to anything until at or around midnight. I’m glad Carp was sleeping at that point. Makes me feel good about his readiness for today. I sent out the message, as did Peter Warden, our director of travel, just making sure our guys were alert to when they did get up, whether in the middle of the night or in the morning, they would be aware of what the game time was.”
Shadowy issues
The later game time gave the two teams a little extra sleep, but it will exacerbate the notoriously difficult shadows at Progressive Field.
“It will be different for sure. Toward the end of Wednesday’s game, my last at-bat in the ninth was in the shadows. It was a little tougher to see,” Carpenter said. “It will play a role, but both teams have to hit in it. In a game like this, where you’re locked in and just trying to see the ball well in general, I think we’ll be all good.”