CLEVELAND – The Detroit Tigers are moving on to the American League Divisional Series as they have defeated the Cleveland Guardians 6-3 in their pivotal win-or-go-home Game 3 matchup in the American League Wild Card round.
After Thursday’s (Oct. 2) win against their divisional rivals, manager A.J. Hinch and hometown catcher Dillon Dingler spoke about the victory.
Earning wins
Hinch said, “You have to earn these wins, you know? You have to earn the opportunity to play in October. You’ve got to earn a full series win over a good team, a hot team. The team that we know well, but you know, I’m so proud of Dylan. I’m proud of our team. We had to fight, and we did, and we have to continue to do that.”
Hinch added, “It gets harder and harder as you go. The series gets longer, but when you earn it, that’s what makes it sweet.”
Dillon bomb
Dingler reflected on his game-breaking home run, saying, “It was huge. Obviously, I’ve been saying this. I was scratching, crawling a little bit this series, and, you know, I was able to get a pitch to hit and do a little bit of damage. The momentum in the series was the biggest thing. The team with the bimomentum was going to carry on. We flipped it right there and had a huge sixth inning to be in the driver’s seat.”
Team resilience
Hinch praised the team’s resilience, noting, “We were right on the cusp the entire series. We had some incredible at-bats early that didn’t go our way, but you’ve got to stay in the fight for 27 outs. You have to face adversity—bad plays, bad pitches, bad calls—and fight back. When Wenceel (Wenceel Perez) got the hit, one good thing happened, and then two, three, four, five at-bats in a row were exceptional."
Emergence of an everyday catcher
On Dingler’s emergence as an everyday catcher, Hinch said, “I’m obviously biased because I’m an ex-catcher, but I believe in presence and stability. Our pitchers trust him. He stepped up when Jake (Jake Rogers) got hurt early in the year and ran with the opportunity. He never stopped preparing or fighting to get better. He’s emerging as a frontline catcher because of that work and credibility."
Hometown hero
Dingler shared, “I grew up coming to a few games here and was always a Guardians fan. It was special to close the door and win this series here. I had family and friends cheering, even though most were Guardians fans.”
Dingler came through with the biggest hit of the season when he smoked a solo 401-foot home run over the fence in left-center to break a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning.
Dingler grew up in Massillon, Ohio, approximately 50 miles from Progressive Field, and is an alumnus of Ohio State University.
Although his college doesn’t get a lot of praise in the state, Michigan Wolverines fans love it when an Ohio native crosses over and helps a team from the state become prosperous, like Charles Woodson and Desmond Howard.
The feeling is not mutual as Dingler heard loud boos from the fans of his hometown state, but he will get cheered loudly inside Comerica Park when the Tigers take on the Mariners for Game 3 in Detroit.
Pitching strategy
Regarding pitching strategy, Hinch said, “In these playoffs, it’s our second year doing this wild card series. Tarik Skubal set us up for the next game. We won the second game last year, which makes it easier to win a series. We didn’t have a guy throw three days in a row like they did, and that catches up to you. Tyler Holton coming out and getting a big inning after a longer outing was huge. Will Vest being a one-plus reliever is key."
Line-up decisions
On lineup decisions, Hinch said, “Every out matters. When they flipped the lineup, we had to adjust. Valera (George Valera) was really good against us, and José Ramírez is a guy we circle every time we play the Guardians. Bringing in Finnegan (Kyle Finnegan) was to keep the game where it was or improve on our side. We have targets and research guiding these decisions."
Hinch concluded, “Every inning matters, especially in the playoffs. Things can turn in a dime, and we weren’t going to allow the middle part of the game to cost us.”
ALDS
The Tigers are heading to Seattle to take on the Mariners on Saturday, Oct. 4, inside T-Mobile Park.
There is no word yet on potential starters.
Still, the Tigers will have their hands full as a rested potential American League Most Valuable Player in catcher Cal Raleigh, alongside Randy Arozarena, J.P. Crawford, and emerging pitcher Bryan Wo,o who is expected to be ready for Game 3 in the ALDS after recovering from a minor pectoral muscle inflammation that caused him to miss the final start of the MLB regular season.