John Niyo: Tigers manager A.J. Hinch knows it's time to clinch, not clench

DETROIT — They’ll worry about tomorrow when it comes.

Today, though, the Tigers will be content to live in the moment, mostly because they know that’s what got them to this moment in the first place.

A winner-take-all Game 5 in the American League Division Series? On the road? Against the AL Central champion Cleveland Guardians?

For the youngest team in Major League Baseball, and a playoff roster that includes just one player with any previous postseason experience, that might seem like a big ask. But for these Tigers, it feels more like the status quo.

And it is, figuratively speaking.

“Really, it just hasn’t stopped,” the Tigers’ Matt Vierling said Thursday night after the Guardians’ comeback win at Comerica Park forced a deciding game in the ALDS back in Cleveland. “I mean, for the past month or two, it’s been intense game after intense game and every win counts. And it’s the same situation here.”

He would know, as the only player in the Tigers’ dugout to have lived — and lost — a playoff elimination game before. (Vierling was part of the Philadelphia Phillies team that lost the 2022 World Series.)

But if there’s any sense of normalcy here for the Tigers, it’s largely because of their manager. A.J. Hinch has been here and done this before, even if his team hasn’t. And his even-keeled, always-mindful approach has as much to do with the Tigers’ presence on this stage — one of the last handful of teams standing — as any of his byzantine baseball strategy or in-game ingenuity.

Win today’s game: That’s Hinch’s managerial mantra. But first you have to embrace it. And if these energetic young Tigers are going to pass another test here, winning Saturday's Game 5 at Progressive Field to advance to the ALCS against the New York Yankees, Hinch knows that’s also a prerequisite.

“We're going to be ourselves,” Hinch promised Friday, before his team held a light off-day workout in Cleveland. “You're going to see guys be themselves.”

And whether that’s Jake Rogers cracking jokes in the dugout or rookie Jackson Jobe dutifully toting the team snack bag out to the bullpen before the game or Tarik Skubal screaming at Guardians fans as he stalks off the mound, Hinch — the Stanford grad with the psychology degree — understands those routines are just as essential as the lineup card he’ll fill out.

Self-confident team

Scouting reports aside, it's that self-belief that starts the rallies and steadies the nerves. It’s the self-confidence that they, themselves, are good enough to get the job done that actually gets the job done in the clutch.

Hinch helped instill that in this group, he watched it grow as the wins started reinforcing his message in August and September, and now just listen to his students talk on the eve of the most important game of their lives.

“It’s a normal day today,” smiled outfielder Wenceel Perez, one of 12 rookies on the Tigers’ 26-man playoff roster. “So why do I have to be nervous?”

Why, indeed?

Remember when the Tigers were still a sub-.500 team and 8 1/2 games out of a wild-card spot in late August? Hinch had people snickering when he insisted then the season was far from over: “We don’t want to talk October plans because we want to play into October.”

Well, what was true then — “We don’t like conceding anything until we absolutely have to,” Hinch said at the time — is just as true now. So if you were expecting the Tigers to make any concessions after a blown seventh-inning lead Thursday night sent them home to pack for Cleveland instead of New York, well, just know that they packed for both cities.

“They’re gonna bring their best, we’re gonna bring our best,” first baseman Spencer Torkelson said of the looming Game 5 showdown. “And I like our chances.”

Counting on Skubal

Hinch does, too, and not just because he’s handing the ball to Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal as the Tigers’ Game 5 starter.

The Tigers are now 35-15 over the last two months, and they’ve won eight of Skubal’s 10 starts in that 50-game stretch. The dominant lefty’s ERA over those 10 outings (1.46) is so small you have to squint to see it. And yet his hulking figure in the middle of the diamond is almost impossible to ignore on the days he pitches.

“I mean, he's a unit on the mound,” Guardians catcher Austin Hedges said. “He's just got it all. He's got crazy deception. He throws 100 mph. He's got two different fastballs. He's got wipeout off-speed (pitches). He's the ultimate competitor. I mean, he's every team's dream to have as your ace. That's as good as it gets in our league.”

But so is this: An elimination game against a division rival in the second week of October? They can talk about it now, because it's a reality. And the vision Hinch refused to let go of back in August is now a reality he's convinced his players they're ready to face.

“I'm so proud of our team and the way we're handling this — the loud music (in the clubhouse), the vibe that we're bringing to tomorrow,” Hinch said Friday. “It's a great opportunity to be great. … It's not a burden. There's no stress. There's no tension on our side.”

Only opportunity, there for the taking.