The Tigers' slide heading into the end of the regular season has made manager A.J. Hinch's job a bit tricky.
They snapped an eight-game skid Thursday with a win over the Guardians in their series finale in Cleveland where the AL Central lead officially changed hands. With the 4-2 win Thursday, the Tigers evened things back up in the division with Cleveland, although the Guardians hold the tiebreaker.
Detroit's final regular-season series began Friday against the Red Sox against Fenway Park. They can clinch a playoff berth with a win and an Astros loss, but there's a chance that the Tigers can go into Sunday's finale still looking to get into the playoffs. If that comes to fruition, the good news for Detroit is their ace Tarik Skubal is scheduled to pitch Sunday following his most recent start Tuesday in Cleveland.
If Detroit's season is on the line, there's certainly nobody else they'd rather have on the bump. However, if they are able to clinch before Sunday, Hinch can save Skubal for Game 1 of their three-game wild-card series. On Friday, Hinch left nothing up for debate on the plan for Skubal. He'll pitch Sunday if needed. If not, he'll be on the shelf for the playoffs.
"It’s pretty clear," the Tigers manager said Friday via The Athletic's Cody Stavenhagen. "If we need to get into the playoffs, we’re going to pitch Tarik. If we’ve clinched a playoff berth, then we won’t pitch him."
Hinch and the Tigers did schedule gymnastics last year during their magical run to the postseason to ensure they could have their ace available for critical moments while on optimal rest. Last year, Skubal won the AL Cy Young Award with an 18-4 record and a 2.39 ERA while striking out a league-high 228 batters. This season, he's the Cy Young Award frontrunner with a 13-6 record, 2.21 ERA and 241 punchouts.
It's not a surprising move to play Skubal's Sunday start by ear, but opponents can be certain they'll see the dominant lefthander when it matters most.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as A.J. Hinch Reveals Plan for Tarik Skubal With Tigers' Postseason Hopes in the Balance.
