BALTIMORE — Step into the shoes of Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. You need to write a starting lineup for an important September clash against the playoff-hungry Detroit Tigers, but you don't know which pitcher your team will face for the majority of the game.

That was Hyde's dilemma for Friday's game, as Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told him left-handed reliever Tyler Holton would serve as the opener, but Hinch didn't disclose the bulk reliever.

Completely legal.

Also pure genius.

"Zero gamesmanship," Hinch said before Friday's opener of a three-game series at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. "It's competitive. I don't think I ever commented on whoever was going to pitch next. We're just trying to get our outs. I know it's a little bit unique, but we're not doing it for any other reason than to try to win."

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More than 50 days ago, Hinch and president of baseball operations Scott Harris turned to the opener-bulk reliever pitching strategy after trading Jack Flaherty to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the July 30 trade deadline. At the time, the goal was to help the Tigers weather having only two starters in the rotation.

Since then, the Tigers own a 10-9 record when using a traditional reliever as an opener.

The Tigers had three pitchers unavailable for Friday's game: right-hander Reese Olson (who starts Saturday), right-hander Casey Mize (who starts at some point in the future, possibly Sunday) and left-hander Tarik Skubal (who starts Tuesday).

The other 10 pitchers — not counting Holton — were available to pitch out of the bullpen in Friday's game, including potential bulk relievers in right-hander Keider Montero, left-hander Brant Hurter, right-hander Ty Madden and right-hander Kenta Maeda.

"The schedule has been friendly to us in terms of the off days," Hinch said, referencing the off day Thursday and the upcoming off day Monday. "We are going to utilize the off days with keeping our guys ready to pitch every day. When those guys all came to the ballpark today, they call know they can pitch."

Keep in mind, the Tigers don't have a starter listed for Sunday's series finale.

It seems likely to be Mize.

"We will obviously communicate with them more than I'm communicating with you," Hinch said. "But I think with the situation that we're in, the best way for us to continue to stack wins is to keep our available pitching available"

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers find competitive advantage in secrecy about pitching