Tigers’ AJ Hinch gets brutally honest on upsetting Astros before ALDS.
Detroit Tigers manager AJ Hinch led his team to the postseason despite being counted out early in the year.
The Tigers were even considered sellers before the MLB trade deadline, and ace Tarik Skubal was mentioned in trade rumors. However, the Tigers found their groove in the second half of the season and ended up upsetting the Houston Astros in the American League Wild Card round. Now the Tigers are gearing up for the American League Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians.
“We can continue to play with no pressure,” Hinch said before the ALDS, via Bob Nightengale of USA Today. “Nobody expects us to be here, nobody expects us to have gotten here, and the way we got here some would call improbable and very unique for us. We’re just trying to stack good days on good days… I think it shows is we can play with anybody.“I said this to our team after we won, that everybody was saying we’re not playoff tested. We’re pretty tested now and we’re heading into this series with a ton of confidence.”
Pulling off back-to-back upsets will prove to be a challenge. The Guardians won the American League Central division in 2024, and Cleveland is hoping to win their first World Series since 1948. Nevertheless, the Tigers have momentum right now and the ALDS projects to be quite competitive.Game 1 is scheduled for 1:08 PM EST on Saturday in Cleveland. The Guardians, who finished with the second best record in the American League, will have home field advantage in the series. Cleveland is the favorite but Detroit’s confidence cannot be denied at the moment.
In 2023, neither the Texas Rangers or the Arizona Diamondbacks were expected to reach the World Series. In fact, the Diamondbacks narrowly made the postseason. Yet, both teams upset the odds and ended up playing against one another in the ’23 Fall Classic. The Rangers ultimately won the World Series after shocking the MLB world in the postseason.
