“Beau plays a really big role in that,” Hinch said. “In a perfect world, I would love to get these guys in the game — clean innings, big leads, deep breathing and attack types they can keep up with — and that never happens. Especially in October.”

More: “Stay in the fight”: Torkelson goes into a tailspin as the Tigers move closer to another clinch

And especially with this Detroit pitching staff that has adapted so well to the mix-and-match strategy that their manager has aptly referred to as Tarik Skubal and “pitching chaos.” Only these tigers have turned the so-called chaos into a kind of comfort.

“Because really, if you’re nervous and you expect to be the next guy every time, I think you’re going to use up a lot of energy,” said Brieske, who wore a new “Roar of ’24” T-shirt in the clubhouse afterward the game labeled: The Tigers Hunt in October. “So I try to stay as calm as possible. And when they shout, ‘Boom!’ The adrenaline is pumping and I’ll be ready no matter what.”

Of course there is no choice in the playoffs. And as Hinch noted on Wednesday, having completed his latest managerial masterpiece, there is no time to get caught up in the flow of the game, where every throw and every shot is that much more important.

“So throwing strikes is key,” said Hinch, whose team has now pitched 20 consecutive scoreless innings in this series. “Be at your best from the first pitch. You see the speed pick up, you see big throws being made to get the first batter out – our inherited runners are really good – and our guys understand that they’re put in that position because every single person that English “D” bears, it knows you can do the job and keep responding.”

Brieske answered his call in Game 3 by going to work right away, passing the Guardians’ David Fry with three consecutive fastballs to make the score 1-2. Then he heard catcher Jake Rogers calling for a slider, and it made perfect sense.

“When Rog called it, I thought, ‘Yeah, that’s exactly the right pitch,'” Brieske said, nodding. “I just have to execute it. And that’s what I did.”

Did he always. Hinch referred to it after the game as a “turbo slider” and Brieske’s wipeout pitch, which was in the dirt as it reached Rogers behind the plate.

“But I think it matched up perfectly with the pitch I threw before and we caught it,” he said. “So that was great. This was probably the biggest pitch of the trip for me. I mean, to get to first when you have runners on first and second, all you have to do now is make one pitch and get out of the inning.”

Four pitches later, he actually got out of the inning when Cleveland’s most feared hitter, Jose Ramirez, sent a changeup into the air into the pasture where Parker Meadows roams.

“Yeah, if it goes to midfield,” Brieske said with a smile, “then you go to the dugout.”

He did it twice more on Wednesday, when Hinch let him in to work a 1-2-3 sixth and then sent Brieske out again in the seventh to beat the Guardians’ Jhonkensy Noel, whom he fended off with a called third shot. At that point, it was time for another call to the bullpen and another handshake for Brieske, the former 27th-round pick — who was drafted No. 802 overall in the 2019 draft — moving on from a former starting pitching prospect has suddenly developed into a standout player. Relief in the blink of an eye.

“I always believed I had this in me,” Brieske said. “Now it’s just a matter of being consistent and using it.”

No matter when it is called.

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Chris McCosky asks Reese Olson about possible back-to-back games against the Guardians.

Chris McCosky asks Reese Olson about possible back-to-back games against the Guardians.