It's Tarik Skubal in Game 1. Then, A.J. Hinch plans to unleash 'pitching chaos' on Astros
HOUSTON — Tarik Skubal is a given.
He is going to start for the Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of the American League wild-card series against the Houston Astros on Tuesday afternoon (2:32 p.m., ABC). Framber Valdez will start for the Astros.
But who will pitch for the Tigers after that?
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch wouldn’t tip his hand Monday — other than wanting to force some “pitching chaos” on the Astros.
“Our plan, to give you a brief overview, is Tarik Skubal (Tuesday) and pitching chaos the rest of the way, which is kind of how it's been the last two months,” Hinch said at a news conference at Minute Maid Park. “Our players buy in. ... They take the ball, they try to get their outs, they hand me the ball, and somebody else comes in that's gotten us here, and that's going to help us, or put ourselves in the best position to help us win in this series — Tarik Skubal notwithstanding.”
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Skubal won the AL pitching Triple Crown after leading in wins (18), ERA (2.39) and strikeouts (228).
“He gets to be a normal starter, traditional let him go, and hopefully let him dominate,” Hinch said. “After that, we have a pitching staff full of talent, full of depth. They continue to pitch well, and we've continued to be unpredictable. We want more of that.”
That unpredictable approach has propelled the Tigers to the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
“I have no idea whether you can do it for a full season,” Hinch said. “We did it for a third of the season, and our guys continue to do that.”
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The approach is all based on setting up ideal matchups for the second pitcher.
“We were able to keep guys fresh, keep guys sharp, get the right matchups, have them come in, throw a ton of strikes and get into count leverage and then give us a chance to miss some bats or get some soft contact,” Hinch said. “We try to just keep it really simple with our guys and pick whoever the leadoff hitter is that we want that pitcher to face and go from there. I can't guarantee a soft landing with nobody on. I also can't guarantee that I'm going to, you know, go to a guy right away if someone's rolling.”
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One thing to clear up: When Hinch says “pitching chaos,” he is sort of joking.
There is no chaos in his mind. He has a plan and shares it with the players.
“We over communicate,” Hinch said. “Our guys know a lot more than I share. I mean, I'm not going to get tip off what our plan is, but they come very prepared for what we're going to ask out of them that day. And I joke about the chaos — it's more organized than I probably give it credit.”
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers' A.J. Hinch plans to unleash 'pitching chaos' on Astros
