Cleveland — Tigers skipper AJ Hinch was in Bobby Fischer mode again Sunday, playing managerial chess like a grand champion.
Seventh inning. Miguel Cabrera had just lashed an RBI single off right-handed reliever James Naile to cut the Cardinals’ lead to 3-2. And the Tigers still had runners at the corners with two outs. Hinch called right-handed-hitting Jonathan Schoop back to the bench and sent up lefty-swinging Zach McKinstry.
That was just his set-up move, though. Hinch suspected Cardinals manager Oli Marmol would do what just about every manager in baseball would do at that point — bring in a left-handed pitcher to deal with McKinstry.
Which he did, calling on lefty Jo Jo Romero.
That was OK with Hinch. He still liked McKinstry vs. the lefty better than Schoop vs. Naile. But, what he liked even more was the fact that Romero would have to face Jake Rogers if McKinstry could extend the inning.
That was Hinch’s play. Rogers was slugging over .700 against left-handed pitching.
You know how that turned out. Rogers hit his second career grand slam and his third home run against lefties this season, to temporarily put the Tigers up, 6-3.
“Everybody understands what we’re trying to do,” Hinch said. “We’re trying to put guys in a position to be successful as much as we can. We’re taking every advantage we can.”
It’s part of what team president Scott Harris meant when he talked about finding wins in the margins. It’s how this roster has been built. In lieu of nine high-producing everyday players and a four-man bench, Harris has assembled a position-player group of 13 versatile athletes with diverse skills that Hinch can mix and match to create and exploit matchup advantages within a game.
“It’s about some advantages we can create with some of the weapons off our bench,” Hinch said. “You’re not a useless player just because you don’t see your name among the nine written on the lineup card that day.
“This isn’t done on a whim. It’s a strategy.”
Let’s go back over some of these chess moves.
▶ April 14 and April 15: The Tigers produced back-to-back walk-off wins against the Giants. In the first game, Hinch started right-handed-hitting Tyler Nevin against lefty starter Sean Manaea. But, when the Giants went to their mostly-right-handed bullpen, Hinch brought in left-handed hitting Nick Maton, who, in the bottom of the 11th, hit a three-run, walk-off game-winner off righty Camilo Doval.
The next night he sent up Cabrera, a rare but perfectly-timed pinch-hit opportunity, against lefty Taylor Rogers. Cabrera responded with his first-ever walk-off pinch-hit.
▶ April 19: Against the Guardians, Hinch sent up McKinstry to pinch-hit for Matt Vierling, even though Vierling had doubled in his previous at-bat. But, Hinch liked McKinstry vs. right-hander James Karinchak. McKinstry homered.
▶ April 21: The Tigers were grinding offensively at this point in the season. Orioles right-hander Tyler Wells blanked them on three hits over seven innings. Two of the hits were by Rogers. But down, 1-0, in the ninth against closer Felix Bautista, Hinch wanted a spark. He sent up Akil Baddoo to pinch-hit for Rogers. He singled, stole second and scored the tying run.
▶ April 29: The Tigers were rallying out of a 6-0 hole against the Orioles in Detroit against lefty Keegan Akin. With a run in and two on, Hinch sent Nevin up to hit for Maton. He figured Orioles skipper Brandon Hyde would counter with a righty, which he did with Mike Baumann.
Still, Hinch felt Nevin against a hard-throwing righty like Baumann was a better matchup than Maton against a lefty with a lot of spin.
Nevin hit a three-run homer.
▶ On Friday, Hinch was like a hockey coach contemplating line changes. The Cardinals were reeling and he wanted to crush their spirit early, so he started nine right-handed hitters against lefty starter Jordan Montgomery.
That cost him some defense, especially in the outfield, where he started Andy Ibanez in right field, a position he’d never played in a professional game at any level. And the move bit him, when Ibanez misplayed a shallow fly ball in a two-run fourth inning.
But, Ibanez doubled in the first and scored on Javier Baez’s home run, giving the Tigers the fast start Hinch wanted. And Hinch was able to deploy his better defense and his left-handed hitters advantageously later in the game.
He rolled the dice and inserted Riley Greene in the game in the fifth, hoping that Marmol wouldn’t let Montgomery pitch beyond the sixth. His hunch was correct, and Greene turned the game around with a two-run double off right-handed reliever Jordan Hicks in the seventh.
As much fun as it’s been to watch and try to think along with a master, these daily maneuverings aren’t always welcomed by players. Their pride and their paychecks are built on being everyday, nine-inning players.
But, the buy-in with this group, thus far, has been astounding.
“The players understand what we are doing and they root for each other, they’re on board,” Hinch said. “They don’t have to love it. But, I do think they have to be good teammates about it. Maton is the perfect example of that. McKinstry is. Schoop has been a terrific example.”
Schoop, who has been a regular for most of his 11 seasons, is 4-for-12 with two doubles in games he doesn’t start.
“We get it,” Schoop said. “We understand the process. We’ve got to be ready because he’s going to use the bench and we have to prepare and be ready for any moment. Even if you’re not used to it, you better get used to it. You’d better be ready for it. There’s no excuse.
“You prepare yourself to play every day. If you’re not in the lineup, you make sure you’re ready when you get the call.”
The Tigers are getting a .704 OPS and a 116 OPS-plus production, collectively, off the bench, with three homers, 10 RBI, 11 walks and 11 runs scored. And that doesn’t include at-bats like Rogers’ grand slam, which was set up by Hinch’s moves.
“It’s not an indictment of that player’s ability,” Hinch said. “It’s more about the player I’m putting in and the strengths that he has. Not every outcome is going to go our way. But, we try to create an opportunity for our team to be better than it would’ve been if we just accepted the original matchup.
“Like, ‘OK, he’s having a good day but he’s the worst matchup imaginable. Do I just give them an out and allow my guy to struggle?’ I don’t know what would happen if I leave these guys in left-on-left or right-on-right. But, I do know we have 26 guys that are on board with trying to take every advantage that we can in these matchups.”
Twitter: @cmccosky