MINNEAPOLIS - Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch spoke with a sharp edge to his voice.
There was no smile, no joking around, no chitchat. He was in no mood to mess around.
“There's edge to the day because we hold ourselves to a higher bar,” Hinch said before the Tigers played a mostly solid game, well, until their bullpen melted down again to force extra innings. But Spencer Torkelson hit a clutch homer in the 12th inning, then Javier Baez lofted a three-RBI double to make it even more comfortable, as the Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 11-6, at Target Field on Wednesday, Sept. 2.
At the moment Hinch spoke in a pregame session, the Tigers had lost 14 of their previous 17 games.
“It's not good right now,” Hinch said. “I'm not shying away from it.
It's our own doing.”
But he offered some hope, a roadmap of how it can change. “It can start tonight,” he said.
Hinch said he had just come from a “really productive” game-planning meeting, where one could presume he let his frustration be known about losing the first two games of this series, sloppy games the Tigers lost by a combined 26-3 margin. “There's some tough love that comes with playing at this level and dealing with the consequences of poor play, and losses building up, and people talking differently about your team than you're comfortable with,” Hinch said.
Then? Well, the Tigers clearly responded, jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead in the second inning when John Peck, playing in just his third MLB game, knocked in two runs with a double.
So, what else changed? Or, better yet, what did Hinch want changed in this game? What was the roadmap to winning? “Look, what has been a common theme when we struggle is we walk too many, we give up damage, and we have shorter at-bats,” he said. “Now, if you can just snap your finger and change all of that, it's indeed way easier.”
Well, that’s precisely what did happen at the start of this game. Drew Anderson threw 5⅔ innings, giving up just one earned run and walked just two. Exactly what Hinch wanted. “I think we're trying to look for better performance,” Hinch said. “It doesn't feel good to get to get blown out, especially sort of how we've done it on the pitching side – a lot of damage, a lot of walks. On the offensive side, it's been a little bit quiet, and that that makes for some long nights.”
But it’s one thing to know what’s wrong – walks and damage – it’s another to fix them. Anderson walked Kody Clemens to start the fourth inning. Then, Ryan Jeffers smashed an RBI double. But Anderson limited the damage by striking out Royce Lewis. That was the key, Hinch had said, limiting the damage.
Doing the little things right
The Tigers added another run in the fifth inning when they did several little things right. Kevin McGonigle earned a six-pitch walk (just what Hinch wanted, better at-bats) and then aggressively got to second on a wild pitch – a little thing that turned into a huge thing. That put him in scoring position and Hao-Yu Lee knocked him in, driving a ball up the middle.
Then, Riley Greene hit a double, knocking in Lee. Suddenly, the Tigers were tying at-bats together again. Suddenly, their game was sharper. And it was sparked by the youngsters. “I think the young guys are holding up fine on their own,” Hinch said. “I think we need to collectively all do better at our jobs, myself included, and our coaching staff. We're a team, and so it doesn't fall on anybody extra.”
Then, those young guys did it again. Rookie center fielder Max Clark opened the sixth with a double and Peck hit a line drive to right, driving in Clark, giving the Tigers a 5-1 lead.
“We got to play better if we want to win, and we do want to win," Hinch said. "These guys are working hard.”
So, even though the Tigers took a 5-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth, it started to evaporate because of mistakes and walks. Anderson got into a jam in the sixth inning after a McGonigle throwing error and Josh Bell singled. After a Trevor Larnach doubled in a run, Hinch brought in Tyler Kinley to face Royce Lewis. He got him to hit a soft dribbler in front of the mound to end the threat.
Limiting the damage. Just like Hinch wanted.
Another Tigers' unraveling
But after seven innings of progress, seven innings of following Hinch's plan, it all unraveled quickly.
Like the Tigers had lost the roadmap.
Hinch turned to Drew Sommers as the Tigers took a 5-2 lead into the eighth. But he got into a quick jam when Brooks Lee singled and Sommers plunked Clemens – yet another free pass. He struck out Jeffers but Bell singled past Peck, loading the bases.
Hinch turned to Kenley Jansen with one out and the bases juiced. He walked Victor Caratini – yes, those things Hinch hates – as the Twins scored. Then, he faced Lewis, who singled past a diving Peck and knocked in two runs and tying it, 5-5. So, Hinch turned to Tyler Holton. Two on, two outs. And he struck out Walker Jenkins to limit the damage.
In the 11th, Clark lofted a ball into left, driving in the extra runner and getting another double, giving the Tigers a 6-5 lead. Clark went 3-for-4, scored two runs, had three doubles and two walks.
Kyle Finnegan pitched the 11th. Keaschall tied it up with a single to right. But he again limited the damage.
Then, Torkelson, a guy who had not hit a homer in 28 straight games, finally hit one in the 12th to give the Tigers the lead.
Then, Baez secured the win by lofting a ball into right field, driving in three runs.
In the end, the Tigers followed the plan: limit damage and better at-bats.
Even if it took extra innings to finish it.
Up next: a day of rest
The Tigers are off on Thursday before a doubleheader on Friday at Cleveland.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: A.J. Hinch's stern pregame message helps Tigers avoid sweep vs Twins
