For all the handwringing about Dan Wilson's handling of the bullpen in Game 1, it was the Tigers skipper who made a fatal error in Game 2. We asked Hinch about it after the game, and here's what he said.
SEATTLE -- For all the handwringing about Dan Wilson's bullpen management in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday, it was AJ Hinch of the Detroit Tigers that committed managerial malpractice in Game 2 on Sunday.
And his poor decision helped open the door for the Seattle Mariners to even the series at a game apiece, and allowed the M's to surprisingly win a game that was started by presumptive Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal.
The moment
The Tigers had just tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the eighth inning when the Mariners came to bat in the bottom half of the frame.
Kyle Finnegan was pitching, and he struck out Randy Arozarena to lead off the inning. Cal Raleigh promptly doubled to put the go-ahead run at second for Julio Rodriguez.
I posted on "X" at that moment that I thought that Hinch would intentionally walk Rodriguez. That made a lot of sense, right? Had the Tigers walked Rodriguez, they would have taken the bat out of the hands of a guy who had a 30/30 season, and who had had three hits, two RBIs and a home run the night before.
Then, they would have set up a double play that could have ended the inning. And even though Jorge Polanco had homered twice off Skubal, he was now going to have to flip around to hit left-handed for the first time all night.
Instead, they pitched to Rodriguez, who effectively won the game with a double down the left field line.
What Hinch said afterwards
If Hinch was second-guessing himself after the game, he didn't show it, to his credit.
Yeah, I mean, it's always easy to pass a baton to the next guy. The guy on-deck (Polanco) was doing a few things in his own right, so, we trust Finnegan to make pitches. You know, their guy beat our guy and did a nice job. Even flipping Polanco around has its own challenges with Finnegan. So, it was just the route that we took. I think he might have hung it a little bit up in the zone. Julio didn't miss it. And that's how they scored the run.
What's next
The series will now shift to Detroit for the first time. The Tigers haven't been home in two weeks and Game 3 is scheduled for Tuesday at 1:08 p.m. PT, though rain is in the forecast.
Logan Gilbert will pitch against Jack Flaherty.
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