Postseason Press Conference: A.J. Hinch on Skubal’s Dominant Start, Tigers Game 1 Win | 9/30/25

Postseason Press Conference: A.J. Hinch on Skubal’s Dominant Start, Tigers Game 1 Win | 9/30/25

Jason, oh um just what you saw from TK today. Was that just a new look? You know, anyone new to the Tigers Guardians, um this is what they look like like every game, you know, and and obviously TK set an incredible tone for us. He’s been um incredible for us all season, but what a performance at the biggest moments in the biggest on the biggest stage to um to to get us in a great position to win the game. So, um saw a little bit of everything out of him. He was efficient, he was dominant, he had every pitch, it was up to 100 all the time. um he didn’t let you know any big moment rattle him and then um put an exclamation mark at the end with his last you know few pitches and last you know let’s call four outs um of handling the ball to Will I think the the blunt um surprised a lot of people can you walk us through the decision-m and the execution of that in the seventh yeah I mean these games are are they’re so crazy and there’s so few opportunities um or there’s a ton of opportunities and you feel like you’re one hit away. And today, um, just given where their pitching was at and they turned the the game over to Gatis, um, we know who’s coming next in in Smith. Um, they have a couple lefties that they can go to. I mean, there’s there just good pitcher after good pitcher where one run was going to um, be a big deal. you know, you can play for the big inning, which we often do, but we have that play in our playbook for, you know, moments like this where where it was an, you know, extreme need to take the lead um with so few outs left. AJ, what was your thinking in sending TK back out for the eighth and then also when you eventually pulled him? Yeah. So, a couple thoughts there is one, um, and you saw the seventh. I mean, that’s a good that’s a good baseline um for for where Trick was at and where we were at in the order. I knew I could control their bench a little bit at the bottom and then Quan was at the top. So, um when you get to Martinez, you know, they’re either going to hit for him with their with their run of lefties. U we know Jose’s right behind that. And so, I told Trick at the end of the seventh that he had three three hitters and he was going to come out at that point. And part of it is is, you know, controlling who’s at at bat and and obviously Terrick is it’s super hard to take him out of the game, especially when he’s as dominant as he was. When he came out in the seventh, just coming out of the inning after those three strikeouts, he was pumped up, fired up. What does that mean just to see him like he was done? I mean, I mean, be honest with you, even just because of the emotion and where have where I’ve taken him out of games for six months was precisely for a moment like this where you you know that’s the right time in my opinion to to go back at it. So he’s an emotional guy in in at you know at face value but where the game was the way that he that the way he pitched the seventh u maybe a slight you know not knowing whether he was going to be in the game a lot of energy comes out and um I love it because these are big moments and big time players play well in big moments they should they should uh they should be thrilled like he was things obviously spiraled for you guys late in the season at the end of the day you you lost home field in this round, but you had Scooble, you know, on on regular full rest. Did you kind of feel like you had the best worst outcome, you know, for a game like that? I don’t like the way you put it. Um, I think having TK at the at the beginning of a series in any series, whether it’s regular season or certainly the postseason is um a huge boost for us. Um, and yes, given how we were prepared to use TK on Sunday if we needed to get into the playoffs, um, we needed a win. and we got walked off on Friday. We come back with a with a hard-fought win on Saturday. Um so it was a great outcome whether it was the best worst outcome or just a good outcome. Um I’m good with either. AJ, I know you said TK made peace with last week and everything that happened, but just the fact that this was his first start since everything in a pressure-packed environment, was it just another level that he had today? I don’t I I don’t think I saw this all I’ve seen this all year. I mean, he’s he’s likely to have hardware at the end of this year for precisely games like this that we’ve seen um with maybe only one or two exceptions. And so, I I think his focus, his determination, like this guy trains super hard in the offseason. He never lets up. He, you know, he carries us through so many of his starts. Um he’s an emotional leader. you know, there’s a great presence with him and everything changes the day that he pitches, which is which is what should be around an ace. Um, he takes that responsibility whether it’s game one of a playoff series or some random June in in you know in a in an inner league series. Um, probably not a little a little tick up on at the level of of the importance of what’s going on with the playoffs, but it’s vintage Terble for those that don’t know him. This is what you get. Jordan, we saw the velocity was was up with TK. What about the the secondary pitches? The slider in particular felt like he was really relying on that. We’ve seen the change up all year. Yeah. And you can tell me I mean I can tell you he loved the slider 3-1 to Hedges, you know, and it’s it’s a pitch he felt like he could get in the zone. It was um everything kind of comes ticks up a little bit with the fast ball, you know, velocity being up and um he even dropped a couple breaking balls that just curve balls that just missed. when he solves that that you know small little blemish on his resume he’s I mean he’s almost unhitable and so um what I see him he’s a pitcher like he I know a 100 impresses people and I know you know the presence and the physical you know um the body of of work and and also just his his presence on the mount is intimidating but he doesn’t just reach back and fire at 100 he’s a pitcher and and moments like that whether it’s sliders or change ups or slow curve balls and then and then the that the the front door two seamers like he’s a beast and and that’s why he’s considered by many as the best pitcher in the big leagues. What was going through your mind when the Guardians scored the way they scored in the fourth inning? Um, you know, I it I I’m kind of like with a loss of words just because they they just scratch and claw and come at you and um even getting Ramirez into at to third the way that they did which was almost an incredible play that turned into an unfortunate play really at the fault of no one and he and he kicks it down the right field line and we now we’re at third with nobody nobody out. Like crazy stuff happens around the Guardians when you play them because they they play their 27 outs. They compete. they are they’re gonna touch the ball. Um it’s a play I’ve never really seen where you know I’m sure I have in my years but you um sort of par for the course when you play Cleveland in in Detroit in the middle on the right one. So AJ what was going through your mind when Ramirez gets on third after that crazy sequence where Vayz makes an amazing play but the throw goes ary you have no outs and then he kind of gets hung up. So like take you through the roller coaster of emotions there like if you think that could lead some momentum going forward. Never doubt. I don’t think any of us had any doubt in this room, in our room, in their room, everybody knew it was going to work out the way that it that it did. So I um yeah, I mean you got to keep playing obviously. I mean it even after the first one, you know, um you’re still not out of it and and then the second one you’re still not out of it. And then you know obviously we get u we had to make plays. You know, I think whether it’s um a fundamental play that you practice way back in February in in Lakeland um to get the runner running back to third. I know it sounds super simple and every little leaguer in America knows how to do that play, but doing it on the big stage was a huge out for us. Um and not letting the batter runner get to second base, which was huge. So, um small things in in close games, especially in the playoffs, matter. and um the ability to execute a secondary pitch to get a funky swing created a a sequence of events that led us to a 10 lead in a in a three-game series. Yep. We’ll have to

A.J. Hinch recaps the Tigers Game 1 win vs. the Guardians in the Wild Card series in Cleveland.

Follow us!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tigers/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tigers/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tigers
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tigers