Tigers shut out Guardians again to grab 2-1 lead in ALDS

Before Wednesday’s Game 3 of the ALDS against the Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said all but two pitchers were available to throw.

He wasn’t kidding. Hinch, the master of " pitching chaos " mixed together six pitchers into a cocktail of dominance as the Tigers shut out the Guardians, 3-0, to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.

The Tigers can clinch a spot in the ALCS — which begins Monday in either Kansas City, Missouri, or New York — with a victory Thursday at Comerica Park. Game 4, with the familiar starter of "TBD," begins at 6:08 p.m. ET (TNT).

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The bullpen was backed by three runs, beginning in the first inning when Riley Greene singled to center off right-handed starter Alex Cobb with two outs to drive in rookie leadoff hitter Parker Meadows.

After a scoreless second, the Tigers tacked on a run in the third as catcher Jake Rogers hit a leadoff double, moved to third on a Meadows groundout and scored on a sac fly to left from Matt Vierling.

Another rookie, Colt Keith, scored the Tigers’ third and final run on a double by Spencer Torkelson, the first baseman’s first hit of the postseason. Keith advanced to second on a wild pitch, then came home when Torkelson laced a 92.9 mph four-seam fastball from right-hander Eli Morgan down the left-field line.

That was more than enough for the Tigers’ cobbled together pitching staff. Hinch opted to go with rookie Keider Montero as the starter. The right-hander was outstanding in holding Cleveland scoreless on just six pitches. But that was it for Montero, who was replaced by rookie lefty Brant Hurter to open the second inning. Hurter lasted 3⅓ innings before departing in the fifth inning after allowing a pair of singles.

At that point, Hinch then turned to his de facto closer, Beau Brieske, who shut down the rally with a strikeout of designated hitter David Fry and a flyout to center by All-Star José Ramírez to end the threat. Brieske worked two innings in all before giving way to left-hander Sean Guenther with one out in the seventh. Guenther allowed a hit and a walk in a third of an inning before Hinch turned to right-hander Will Vest to escape another jam.

Again, Fry was the victim, as Vest got him to scorch a liner down the left-field line directly at Vierling, who made a highlight-reel play to end the inning.

After a scoreless eighth from Vest, Hinch turned to Tyler Holton — the Game 1 starter who took the loss in giving up four runs without recording an out — to close things out. This time, he was nearly perfect, with a scoreless outing to bring the Tigers within a game of their first ALCS berth since losing to the Boston Red Sox in six games in 2013.

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 shut out Guardians again to grab 2-1 lead in ALDS