DETROIT (AP) – Detroit Manager AJ Hinch planned to start right-hander Reese Olson Cleveland a chance to advance in Game 4 of the AL Division Series and hoped to keep him on the mound for more than just an inning or two.

Hinch has taken advantage of what he calls “pitching chaos” by relying on helpers to pitch when it’s not AL Cy Young Award favorite Tarik Skubal’s turn.

“It’s OK for someone not named Tarik Skubal to start regularly,” Hinch said, grinning Wednesday, a few hours before first pitch at Comerica Park.

Detroit pitchers had thrown 20 consecutive scoreless innings. Six jugs combined for a 3-0 win on Tuesday, one game after Skubal threw seven innings for a 3-0 win.

Cleveland fared well as it beat Olson 7-0 in its opening win in the best-of-five series.

Hinch did not use a traditional starter in Game 1. Tyler Holton gave up four runs, three hits and a walk without getting an out. Olson allowed Lane Thomas’ three-run home run on his first pitch.

The 23-year-old Olson was 4-8 with a 3.53 ERA in 22 starts during the regular season, a year after going 5-7 with a 3.99 ERA in 18 starts and three relief appearances as a rookie.

“He made a lot of starts for us,” Hinch said. “He’s really good and there’s part of his routine that we don’t want to break again.

“I think the challenge is always when you do as many openings as we do and use as many people as we do, there is always the question of whether you should do that all the time. But we really believe in Reese.”

The Tigers decided to be creative with their pitching staff after dealing the starter Jack Flaherty to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the July 30 trade deadline, sending reliever Andrew Chafin to Texas. Detroit won 31 of its last 44 games to clinch a wild-card berth for its first playoff appearance in a decade.

“A non-traditional approach to pitching helps many young pitchers adapt more quickly to playing at this level,” Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said earlier this week. “It also took some pressure off some of our young starters because they were coming out of the bullpen. And it gives AJ the opportunity to be a little more unpredictable for opponents.”

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB