Tigers' bullpen grinds through extras after 8.1 chaotic innings.

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00:01Welcome to an incredible story of resilience and strategy. The Tigers entered T-Mobile Park

00:06on Friday night with the intention of relying on Tarek Skubal's left arm for as long as possible

00:11in their quest to reach the ALCS. Skubal delivered an impressive performance, pitching six innings

00:17and setting a postseason record with 13 strikeouts in a winner-take-all game. However, they still

00:23faced the challenge of covering an additional nine innings. Remarkably, they came close to

00:27achieving their goal. In a repeat of the previous year, when the Tigers relied on Skubal and a mix

00:33of pitching strategies to nearly reach the ALCS, they found themselves employing a similar approach

00:38in this game. Seven pitchers collectively contributed to 8-1-3 innings of relief during

00:44Detroit's 3-2 loss to the Mariners in Game 5 of the ALDS, which extended to 15 innings. The reliable

00:52late-inning trio of Kyle Finnegan, Tyler Holton, and Will Vest managed to pitch only three innings.

00:58Manager A.J. Hinch noted, In an ideal scenario, we had planned for Tarek, Will, Finnegan, and Holton

01:04to pitch if necessary. After that, we were just trying to piece things together as best as we could

01:09to keep the game going. When we were on the mound, we... The team found themselves just one run away from

01:16the end of their season, leading them to approach the game, one batter, at a time. This situation

01:22highlighted the resilience and skill of any pitcher stepping onto the mound at that moment.

01:27Jack Flaherty, who had temporarily stepped out of the starting rotation, emphasized the importance

01:32of teamwork for Game 5, stating, It's all hands on deck. He expressed his willingness to contribute in

01:38any way possible for his teammates, praising the strength of the group. Catcher Dylan Dingler

01:43shared his admiration for the bullpen's performance, noting, It was awesome to see all of our relief

01:48pitchers come in. It's remarkable that they handled the pressure so well in that moment.

01:53They executed their roles effectively. The strategy involved a combination of traditional starting

01:58pitchers, converted relievers, and, capable, arms, all, united by a single goal, to prevent the

02:06Mariners' formidable hitters from settling in. Manager Hinch explained the strategy, saying,

02:11Given their batting order, we wanted to avoid having the same pitcher face the middle of their

02:16lineup repeatedly. After Vest delivered two scoreless innings with four strikeouts, pushing

02:22the game into extra innings, the team began to implement more creative tactics. Although Hinch

02:27was hesitant to use Melton, who had recently pitched three innings of relief, the situation called

02:32for innovative decisions. Two days ago, Melton was called upon to secure the win in Game 4.

02:37Recognizing that Melton could handle an inning, the manager opted to bring him in for the 10th.

02:41This was a remarkable opportunity for a pitcher who had started the season as the opening day

02:46starter for AA Erie just six months prior. Although Melton faced a challenge right away,

02:51giving up a double to Victor Robles on his very first pitch, he managed to regroup. He struck out

02:56J.P. Crawford with a powerful 100.3 MPH fastball, marking the fastest pitch he had ever thrown,

03:03which resulted in a pop-out, to second base. Melton then engaged in a tough six-pitch battle

03:09with Randy Arazarina, ultimately striking him out with a splitter. After intentionally walking

03:14Cal Raleigh, Melton concluded the inning by inducing a ground-out from Julio Rodriguez.

03:20Following a difficult postseason debut in Cleveland, Melton rebounded impressively,

03:24pitching eight innings and allowing only one run while recording eight strikeouts over his next four

03:29appearances. This performance has positioned him well to make a strong case for a spot in the

03:33rotation next spring. Keiter Montero, who was making his third appearance in the series,

03:38took over from Melton and delivered a flawless 11th inning against the heart of the Mariners' lineup.

03:43However, a walk and a hit, batter, later put some pressure on the situation. In the 12th inning,

03:51the situation became tense for him. He was just one pitch away from loading the bases with no outs

03:56when he managed to regain control of the count against Crawford, who ended up flying out to left

04:01field on a full count. Shortly after, Montero received a ground ball from Arazarina and maintained

04:06his composure, making a precise throw to second base to initiate a double play that ended the inning.

04:12At that moment, Flaherty, who appeared to be the likely starter for Game 1 of the ALCS if Detroit

04:17progressed, was getting ready in the bullpen. We had a conversation with Jack at home before we left,

04:22about how the game would unfold in Game 5, and he needed to adjust his preparation to be ready,

04:28Hinch explained. I instructed him to head down to the bullpen about halfway through. I'm not exactly

04:34sure when he went down there, but it was clear that this game was going to extend into extra innings,

04:39which would require him to pitch. Although his performance wasn't flawless, it proved to be

04:43effective. Flaherty walked three out of the seven batters he faced, and only managed to throw 21

04:49strikes out of 43 pitches as he struggled through the inning. The pitcher demonstrated solid control

04:54over his fastball, managing to secure two strikeouts and two groundouts which allowed him to navigate

04:59through a challenging situation. This was aided by Dingler's impressive throw of 87.5

05:05malignaps to second base, successfully catching Robles attempting to steal, thus concluding the 14th

05:10inning. Dingler commented on the situation, noting, he was up against a significant part of the batting

05:16order, and we were focused on preventing any major runs, so he was being cautious. That's acceptable

05:22because this team tends to swing at pitches outside the strike zone, Hinch added. The players kept

05:27fighting. It seemed like the game was relatively uneventful in terms of scoring opportunities

05:32until we reached extra innings. Then, we saw runners on base everywhere, double plays, players getting

05:39caught stealing, bunts, and teammates supporting each other through errors or misplays. Ultimately,

05:45the lengthy game concluded with Tommy Conley on the mound, who allowed a single to Crawford,

05:50and hit Aeros Arena with a pitch, creating a challenging situation. Raleigh's fly-out to

05:57center field moved Crawford to third base, and an inaccurate throw from Parker Meadows enabled

06:02Aeros Arena to advance. With first base unoccupied, Conley issued a walk to Rodriguez, but he found

06:09himself in a full count against Polanco. On the verge of giving up a game-ending walk, Conley managed to

06:15deliver a change-up that landed at the lower part of the strike zone. Polanco, who had previously

06:20struck out on two change-ups thrown by Scooball earlier in the match, successfully hit Conley's

06:26pitch, resulting in a single to right field. Hinch reflected on the latter part of the game, stating,

06:32The back half of that game is like a game in itself, you know? We managed to avoid some tough

06:39situations, and so did they. I certainly didn't want it to conclude the way it did, but I aim to keep

06:45giving ourselves a chance. And, they ultimately outlasted us. What would you have done differently

06:54if you were in the manager's shoes?

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