Ex-Astros manager A.J. Hinch back in playoffs with Tigers to face former team in AL Wild Card Series

HOUSTON — A.J. Hinch led Houston to a championship in 2017, and the last time he managed a postseason game it was the Astros’ loss in Game 7 of the 2019 World Series.

The following January he was suspended for a year by Major League Baseball and fired the same day for his role in Houston’s sign-stealing scandal.

Hinch returns to the playoffs Tuesday with the Detroit Tigers in their first postseason appearance in a decade when they face the AL West champion Astros in Game 1 of a best-of-three Wild Card Series. Detroit ace Tarik Skubal (18-4, 2.39 ERA) opposes fellow left-hander Framber Valdez (15-7, 2.91) in the opener.

Hinch, who has managed the Tigers since 2021, insists this series is not about his redemption.

“I’m not proud of the story to get here,” Hinch said Monday before the Tigers worked out at Minute Maid Park. “I’ve owned up to that and I will continue to do that. I’m very sorry for how it all went down. But all I had was the next opportunity to try to make it better and try to do my part to make this happen as fast as possible for the Detroit Tigers.”

“And that group that’s in the clubhouse over there waiting to go work out has worked tirelessly to get to feel this feeling,” he continued.

The Tigers were 10 games out of the last AL wild-card spot on Aug. 10 before going 31-13 the rest of the way to punch their ticket to the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

Now, they’ll face a playoff-tested Houston team that's in the postseason for an eighth straight year. Detroit outfielder Riley Greene believes the Tigers' path to this point will help them this week.

“I feel like we’ve been playing playoff baseball since August,” he said. “We’re young and all we really want to do is win and we’re doing whatever we can to win.”

The Astros also had a difficult path to the playoffs this season. Houston overcame a 7-19 start to win its fourth straight AL West title and its seventh in eight years, only falling short during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

Hinch and Astros manager Joe Espada share a close bond after Hinch hired Espada as his bench coach in Houston before the 2018 season. Espada is in his first season as manager after Dusty Baker’s retirement.

“I’m actually looking forward to it,” Espada said. “He’s a good friend. We have spent a lot of time together. I’ve learned a ton from A.J., but I think this series is about the Astros against the Tigers.”

Valdez’s Mental Growth

Valdez is looking for a much better postseason this year after he lost each of his three playoff starts last season while giving up a combined 19 hits and 12 earned runs.

The 30-year-old has worked on improving his mental toughness over the past few years with the help of Dr. Andy Nunez, a psychologist in the Astros organization.

“With Dr. Andy, I’ve talked to him almost every day, whether it’s on the phone, whether before a game, after a game, even if I’m not playing, I try to take the moment and talk to him,” Valdez said in Spanish through a translator. “We talk about life, try to talk about the mental aspect of it, how to handle certain situations … (and) I try to take that advice and make the most of it.”

Espada has been impressed with the growth of Valdez since his rookie season in 2018.

“I’ve seen this young kid that got up here in the big leagues a long time ago really mature both personally and on the mound,” Espada said.

Skubal’s Crown

Skubal, who had 228 strikeouts to go with his 18 wins and 2.39 ERA, became the first American Leaguer to win the pitching Triple Crown since Cleveland’s Shane Bieber did it in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and the first in a full season since Justin Verlander in 2011.

The likely AL Cy Young Award winner is looking forward to his playoff debut.

“It means a lot to have the confidence from A.J. and the organization, and I’m going to roll out there (Tuesday) and do my best to put our team in position to win,” he said.

The 27-year-old Skubal has faced Houston twice this season with a win and a loss. But both starts were early in the season, with the last one coming on June 14.

After the Tigers use their ace in Game 1, don’t expect to see any Detroit pitcher for more than two or three innings for the rest of the series.

“Our plan, to give you a brief overview, is Tarik Skubal (on Tuesday) and pitching chaos the rest of the way, which is kind of how it’s been the last two months,” Hinch said.

Availability of Alvarez

The Astros are waiting to see if outfielder/designated hitter Yordan Alvarez can play this week. He’s been out since spraining his right knee on a slide Sept. 22.

Espada said Monday that Alvarez would hit in the cage and run on the field and the team would determine his availability after that.

Alvarez led the Astros with a .305 batting average, 35 homers and 86 RBIs this season.