AJ Hinch clarifies Tyler Holton-Jason Foley decision after Tigers' 9th-inning scare

Everybody exhale.

Emma Lingan

Wild Card Series - Detroit Tigers v Houston Astros - Game 1 / Tim Warner/GettyImages

The Detroit Tigers held on to secure a 3-1 win over the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series Tuesday, but not without a hefty dose of late-game drama.

With three consecutive RBI singles off of Astros staff ace Framber Valdez, the Tigers cruised to a 3-0 lead in the second inning – one they would maintain until the bottom of the ninth. Tyler Holton had come in to face just one batter in the eighth inning, Kyle Tucker, and needed just two pitches to force the Astros slugger to ground out to third and end the inning.

It seemed like a no-brainer that Holton would come back out to close out the game in the bottom of the ninth, but Tigers manager AJ Hinch instead turned to closer Jason Foley. Then, things got a little dicey.

The first batter Foley faced was Yordan Alvarez, who doubled off the left field wall. Zach Dezenzo came in to pinch run for Alvarez, and Alex Bregman hit an infield single that sent Dezenzo to third. With runners at the corners and no outs, Tigers pitching coach Chris Fetter came to the mound before Foley faced Yainer Diaz. Following the mound visit, Diaz hit a grounder through the right side for an RBI single after a third-strike foul tip was overturned.

With the score now 3-1, still with no outs, Foley stayed in to face one more batter. Jeremy Peña popped out to the catcher to advance Diaz to second and Bregman to third, and that was enough for Hinch to give Foley the hook. Beau Brieske came in to relieve him, and though he walked Chas McCormick to load the bases (for even more drama!), he was able to get the final two outs and secure the win for Detroit.

Tigers' AJ Hinch clarifies Tyler Holton-Jason Foley decision after 9th-inning scare

The end of Game 1 certainly didn't have to be that exciting, and Tigers fans wish it hadn't been. When asked why he chose to go with Foley instead of sending Holton back out for the ninth, though, Hinch gave a sound explanation.

Here's what A.J. Hinch said on going with Jason Foley rather than Tyler Holton to face Yordan Alvarez in the ninth.

Basically, he wanted to use Foley and wanted to make sure he had a clean inning. pic.twitter.com/xRpUGB1wD7
— Cody Stavenhagen (@CodyStavenhagen) October 1, 2024

Due to MLB's three-batter minimum rule, which requires a pitcher to face at least three batters or end a half-inning before his team can make another pitching change, Hinch further explained that he wanted to get Foley into the game and that he wanted it to be a clean inning.

All's well that ends well, and now we can all exhale. Plus, as a bonus, Holton will now be available to the Tigers Wednesday for Game 2. Let's hope they're in a situation to use him.

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Emma Lingan

Emma Lingan is an MLB Staff Writer for FanSided primarily covering the Pittsburgh Pirates. She has been covering baseball for more than a decade dating back to her time as a student at Wake Forest University, and she has won two gold medals as a member of the U.S. National Team delegation (2016 Pan-American Championships & 2017 World Baseball Classic). A native of Washington, D.C. and current resident of Nashville, Tenn., she is also entering her seventh season as a credentialed NHL media member and currently covers the NHL’s Nashville Predators for The Hockey News. When she's not watching hockey, baseball or football, she enjoys podcasting, reading, going to the gym, consuming large amounts of coffee and taking long walks with her dog, Minkah. You can follow her @Emma_lingan on Twitter and Instagram.