Questionable AJ Hinch move pays off as Tigers complete comeback vs Rays

On Thursday afternoon, the Tigers were looking for a series sweep against the Rays and to keep pace with the Royals, who won their third straight game against the Nationals during Detroit's showdown. Out of the last two teams the Tigers will see in the regular season, the Rays presented the bigger challenge, and Detroit should enjoy a few more sweet victories against the White Sox (they may even be the team that pushes Chicago over that 120-loss mark to set a new modern era record) to close out the season.

Reese Olson was the pitcher on the bump in the finale. He had an okay afternoon, going four innings and giving up two runs (a two-run single to Brandon Lowe) before being replaced by Casey Mize in Mize's first bullpen appearance of the year. Tampa tacked on another on a wild pitch from Mize in the top of the fifth, while the Tigers remained scoreless.

But the thing about this team is that they don't go down without a fight. In the bottom of the sixth, with reliever Hunter Bigge having replaced starter Tyler Alexander, Colt Keith tripled to drive in Matt Vierling, who reached first on a walk. The Tigers then made their first offensive substitution of the day, sending Kerry Carpenter in Spencer Torkelson's place, and he brought Keith around on an RBI single to get Detroit within one.

The Tigers completely emptied their bench before the game was over, sending Carpenter, Zach McKinstry, Jace Jung, Justyn-Henry Malloy, and Dillon Dingler in. Keith became the player of the game with an RBI single to tie it, and Malloy put the Tigers ahead with a sac fly to center field to score Vierling.

Tigers extend winning streak to five, keep pace with Royals in Wild Card push with sweep of Rays

Despite the fact that the Tigers couldn't get the bats going until the middle innings, they ended up coming through across the board. Beau Brieske and Jason Foley continue to work well in any situation they're tasked with handling, and some heads up base running — first from Riley Greene, who moved to second on a wild pitch before Keith's second RBI on the day, and then Vierling's dash home — tied things up and cemented the win for the Tigers.

Even though Hinch decided to employ McKinstry in the bottom of the seventh, for some reason, when he was batting under .100 over his last seven games, the rest of the lineup picked him up and forged ahead. (McKinstry flew out after a six-pitch at-bat). Even though Kerry Carpenter was removed in the ninth to play lefty-righty with JHM, things still worked out. Detroit didn't need a big bat, in that moment. The sacrifice fly worked out just fine.

The Twins won't play until this evening, but if they lose, the Tigers' Magic Number will be cut down to one, and all it'll take will be a single win over the White Sox over the next three days to get Detroit to the promised land. It's all coming together now.