DETROIT — This is the time of the season where players emerge from the shadows or retreat into them. Tim Herrin emerged Tuesday night at Comerica Park in the Guardians’ 7-5 win over Detroit in 10 innings.

Herrin, a cornerstone of Cleveland’s powerful bullpen in 2024, has been inconsistent this season. He has ridden the shuttle between Cleveland and Triple-A Columbus three times after a career season in which he went 5-1 with a 1.92 ERA in 75 appearances.

The 6-5 left-hander added nine more appearances to those totals in the postseason. He allowed one run in 8 1/3 innings for a 1.08 ERA.

When questions are raised about the Guardians’ bullpen this year, they start with All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase’s being placed on paid leave by MLB for gambling allegations. But Herrin’s inconsistencies cannot be overlooked.

Herrin shoved all that into the shadows Tuesday night against Detroit when he relieved Hunter Gaddis in the eighth inning following a leadoff single by Spencer Torkelson. The Guardians led 3-2 in a game that meant much more to them than it did to the AL Central-leading Tigers.

Detroit started Tuesday with a 6 1/2 game lead over the Guadians with 12 games to play. The Guardians, who have been chasing the Tigers since early April, had 13 games to play.

Herrin started the inning by striking out Riley Greene, who has 34 homers and 108 RBI, in a left-on-left encounter. Greene went down swinging on a 2-2 curve.

The Tigers pinch-hit Jake Rogers, and Herrin struck him out on a 1-2 curve. He ended the inning by striking out catcher Dillon Dingler on a 1-2 curve.

“It was really cool to see Timmy Herrin coming in and punching out the side in the eighth,” manager Stephen Vogt. “He’s had an up and down year, but that was (the real) Timmy Herrin.”

Herrin talked about having a certain “feel’ for the ball as he let it go.

“I’ve been chasing that feeling for a while,” said Herrin. “It’s been an up and down season for me, but working with the coaches here, I feel like I’m finally in a good spot.”

Herrin said Tuesday’s game reminded him of last year when the Guardians played the Tigers in a tense five-game ALDS that went in Cleveland’s favor.

“We talked about it during BP and in the bullpen during the game,” said Herrin. “It feels like a playoff atmosphere, at least for us. It’s where we’re at right now, every game is like a playoff.

“We can’t afford to slip or lose any ground right now. We’re hot. We’re coming off a 17-game stretch with one off day, but when you’re this hot, you don’t want an off day.”

The Guardians are 13-5 over their last 18 games. They trail the Tigers by 5 1/2 games with five games left against them. They’re 2 1/2 games behind Boston for the third wild card spot. Boston, however, holds the tiebreaker in their season series.

If Herrin has had an up and down season, so have the Guardians. They lost 10 straight from June 26 through July 6. The losing streak dropped them to 15 1/2 games off the pace in the AL Central and seven games back in the wild card.

They rebounded to win 23 of their next 32 games only to lose nine of their next 10. Since that stumble, they’ve won 15 of their last 20 games.

“I think it speaks to everyone in the whole organization, whether it’s players, coaches or staff,” said Herrin. “No matter how things are going, we always believe we can win. It doesn’t matter what the stats or the underlying numbers say, we always find a way.

“We did the samething last year. If we get into the playoffs, it will be a lot of fun.”

The Guardians won the AL Central and advanced to the ALCS last year.

Herrin wasn’t the only Guardian doing some good work with his left arm in the eighth. Steven Kwan, the Guardians’ left-handed throwing Gold Glove outfielder, played Torkelson’s leadoff drive off the left-field wall and threw a strike to second base to keep Torkleson at first. Vogt said it was a key play in the inning.

“For Kwan to keep him at first, changes the whole dynamic of that inning,” said Vogt. “If he’s on second with nobody out, that changes their whole hitting approach against Timmy. All they have to do is rollover (hit a ground ball to second) to move the runner.”

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