PITTSBURGH – Perhaps there is no such thing as a must-win game in August. After all, the Detroit Tigers have 37 games left to play in the regular season.
Yet it certainly felt like a must-win game on Monday night for the Tigers when they met the Pittsburgh Pirates in the opener of a three-game series at PNC Park. The Tigers' hopes of winning the American League Central were severely damaged over the weekend when they were swept in a three-game series at home against the Chicago White Sox.
AJ Hinch, sleepless nights and scoreboard watching
Tigers manager AJ Hinch admittedly had a restless night on Sunday after the Tigers arrived in Pittsburgh.
“I went to bed, but I didn’t go to sleep,” Hinch cracked.
Yet the theme in the Tigers’ clubhouse on Monday was “flush it.” They did just that by notching an 8-5 win.
“We have a lot of character on this team, and we've played so many games, not just this season, but over the last few seasons with a lot of attention around us,” Hinch said. “So, I have a lot of trust and faith that we show up ready to play every day. And it's because this isn't just like a week or a month or even a season. It's multiple seasons of our style of play matching the day-to-day grind. So, it shouldn't surprise me.”
The Tigers reached the postseason each of the last two seasons. They have a chance to make it three in a row despite a 61-64 record.
Tigers want another crack at October
The second-place Tigers gained a game on the White Sox, who lost to the crosstown rival Cubs, on Monday and are now 4 ½ games behind in the division standings. However, the Tigers are in a three-way tie for the third and final AL wild card with the Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers in a congested race. The Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays are both ½ game back while the Cleveland Guardians are one game behind and the Seattle Mariners are two games out.
Team | Games back |
|---|---|
Yankees | +8.5 |
Red Sox | +6.5 |
Orioles | -- |
Rangers | -- |
Tigers | -- |
Twins | -0.5 |
Blue Jays | -0.5 |
Guardians | -1 |
Mariners | -2 |
Hall of Famer Jim Leyland, who was the last manager to lead the Tigers to the World Series in 2012, always had a rule of thumb that the pennant race doesn’t start until Aug. 15. Other managers claim they don’t pay close attention to the standings until Sept. 1. For Hinch, though, scoreboard watching begins on opening day.
“I think anyone that says that they don’t scoreboard watch is in denial,” Hinch said. “These ballparks have such huge scoreboards; you can’t help but watch and see what is happening around the league. In terms of the playoff race, of course, the interest level in other games grows as the year goes on. But I'm curious how teams are playing in March, April, and May. So I don't think it just comes down to the final month. It's just maybe the importance of those observations is noteworthy.”
Hinch then smiled and said what he looks for on the scoreboard.
“I want everyone to lose,” Hinch said. “Even when they play each other.”
Tigers making do with depleted roster
It was easy to wonder if the Tigers were trying to lose at the trade deadline. They dealt left-hander Tarik Skubal, the AL Cy Young winner each of the last two seasons, to the Los Angeles Dodgers and right-hander Casey Mize to the San Diego Padres, putting a major hole in their starting rotation.
Yet President of Baseball Operations Scott Harris felt he could cash Skubal and Mize in for prospects and still contend. Harris has proven right so far, but more concerning for the Tigers now is that outfielders Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, Parker Meadows, James Outman, Wenceel Perez, and Matt Vierling are on the injured list. Yet the Tigers are making do with two rookies – left fielder Brett Callahan and center fielder Max Clark – starting in the outfield, with utility player Zach McKinstry manning right field.
Infielder Kevin McGonigle is also a rookie, and he leads the AL with 5.7 bWAR. The Tigers have even more rookies with left-handers Drew Sommers and Emmanuel De Jesus in the bullpen and catcher Eduardo Valencia, infielder Hao-Yu Lee and outfielder Ben Malgeri on the bench. That makes eight rookies on a contending team’s roster.
“Everyone who has come here has the same mindset, and that’s to win,” McGonigle said. “That’s part of why I love this team. We think anything is possible.”
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