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    • Hinch moves rookie Malloy to the top of the Tigers’ batting order against lefties
    Tennessee

    Hinch moves rookie Malloy to the top of the Tigers’ batting order against lefties

    Eira Gwyneth Posted on

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    Cleveland – Facing Astros left-hander Framber Valdez in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, Tigers manager AJ Hinch moved rookie Justyn-Henry Malloy to second in his batting order.

    Against Guardians left-hander Matthew Boyd in a crucial second game of the ALDS on Monday, Hinch put Malloy in the lead.

    It wasn’t a difficult decision.

    “He’s at the top because he’s a real left-handed threat,” Hinch said. “He’s also a right-hand pitching threat. But right now he’s doing better against lefties. So the threat from the first pitch of tonight’s game is real.

    “The ability to get on base in front of Matt Vierling and Andy Ibanez before we get to Riley Greene is really critical and he is ready for that challenge.”

    More than finished. Ibanez has played the left-handed hitter role all season, but Malloy has emerged as an equally dangerous right-handed weapon. Malloy hit .250/.393/.500 with an .893 OPS against lefties in the regular season.

    He was 2 for 3 in the postseason entering Monday’s game, with hits against Valdez and Astros closer Josh Hader – two of the best left-handed pitchers in the game.

    “He knows why he’s in this squad,” said Hinch. “He knows his role and is usually one step ahead in preparing for it. I love making him hit and accompanying him as he develops. After the last series he played a crucial role against their left-handed pitching and I hope that will be the case in this series too.”

    This spot in the batting order could be crucial. Once the Guardians go to their bullpen to bring in a right-handed reliever, left-handed reliever Kerry Carpenter will be activated.

    Speak quietly or not at all

    Trey Sweeney was a minor miracle. Acquired from the Dodgers at the trade deadline in the Jack Flaherty trade after being virtually stalled in Triple-A, the 24-year-old has seamlessly and almost silently taken over the Tigers’ shortstop position.

    He was so calm, so consistent (plus four defensive runs saved), so poised, even during the most intense stretch of the season in September, that you wonder if he has a pulse.

    Spoiler alert: He does.

    “He’s pretty competitive,” Hinch said. “So it’s not a lack of energy or competitiveness. But I think his calmness is just who he is. We ask these guys: just be who you are. If you’re hyperactive, be hyperactive. If you are calm, stay calm. But always be prepared.

    “He embodies this and that since the day he came here.”

    Hinch was told that Sweeney would be in the interview room on Monday afternoon.

    “See if you can make him laugh or smile or make him nervous,” Hinch said with a laugh. “We didn’t succeed.”

    No. The reporters barely managed to get answers out of several sentences. He was asked if his heart beat faster in the postseason or if the adrenaline flowed more freely.

    “I mean, maybe a little,” he said. “Since I’ve been up here, I feel like every game on our journey here has been important in some way. So I feel like I played in a lot of big games along the way here and that helped me a little bit in this experience.”

    Sweeney’s bat wasn’t as sturdy as his glove, but the lefty hit lefties well (7 of 26 in the regular season and his only postseason hit came against Valdez).

    “I think I have the same level of confidence no matter who is on the mound,” he said. “Not much of a different approach. I’m just sticking to my roots and just trying to stay on the fastball and adjust.”

    Persistence, preparation and competitiveness – these are far more valuable qualities for winning baseball games than an outsized personality.

    “My biggest fear about him getting to the big leagues wasn’t whether he would be up to the competition,” Hinch said. “It was about whether he could get to know all the names quickly enough and feel comfortable in a clubhouse that was becoming a clubhouse dominated by young people.

    “And he fits in perfectly, playing a premier position and navigating the ups and downs of pushing into the big leagues in the middle of a pennant race.”

    Where is the money?

    Obviously, the Tigers bullpen has undergone a significant shake-up. Alex Lange, Andrew Chafin and Shelby Miller, the frontrunners for most of the season, are not there. Neither does Joey Wentz.

    Will Vest, Jason Foley and Tyler Holton have taken the reins down there. But one thing was lost in the confusion.

    First Lange and then Chafin were in charge of the Kangaroo Court clubhouse, collecting what Foley called the “Homer fines.” The nice money seems to be missing.

    “Chafin was the guy who got the homer fines as a bullpen veteran, and I actually don’t know where they went,” Foley said with a laugh. “It’s probably somewhere in Texas.”

    Chafin was traded to the Rangers at the deadline.

    “He kind of collected the fines,” Foley said, shrugging.

    Hmmm.

    If you haven’t noticed, Foley is sporting a few more feet of beard these days. It wasn’t like that at first, but it’s now morphed into an official NHL-style playoff beard. And it is a beauty.

    “I haven’t coached it since about the beginning of August when we started winning a bunch of games,” he said. “I remember Scott (Harris, president) telling me, I think it was in Oakland, he was like, ‘Oh, you’re growing a playoff beard.’ I thought, “Yeah, I guess.”

    “I might as well keep it now because we played really well.”

    And he’ll be the first to tell you that it’s just as unpleasant as it looks.

    “I guess it’s hard to compete because we’ve played so well since then,” he said. “But I wouldn’t hate to get rid of it at some point, hopefully later than sooner.”

    [email protected]

    @cmccosky

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    Chris McCosky talks to Wenceel Perez about Game 2 against the Guardians.

    Chris McCosky talks to Wenceel Perez about Game 2 against the Guardians.

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    Eira Gwyneth
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