DETROIT — Brant Hurter was cruising.
Having entered the game in the second inning in relief of fellow rookie Keider Montero, the 26-year-old southpaw had navigated three-plus frames in the early stages of Detroit’s 3-0 victory over Cleveland in Game 3 of the ALDS without much trouble on Wednesday afternoon. The Tigers’ hitters had provided a couple of runs of support, extending the leash for manager AJ Hinch to let Hurter collect as many outs as possible before making another call to the bullpen.
But in the top of the fifth, Cleveland had something cooking. After Hurter retired catcher Bo Naylor for the first out, No. 9 hitter Brayan Rocchio and leadoff man Steven Kwan collected consecutive base hits. The lefty Hurter had appeared to be a favorable matchup against Cleveland’s pesky leadoff man, but Kwan spoiled that strategy.
“Not everything is perfectly as planned as you want it to be,” Hinch said ahead of this series when asked about his mantra for managing postseason games. “Somebody is going to punch you in the mouth at some point, and you gotta react.”
Hinch paused and then offered this follow-up: “That’s why we have Beau Brieske.”
It was a well-delivered line that elicited laughter in the room at the time, but it was rooted in the stone-cold truth: Time and again, when things start to go sideways, Hinch turns to Brieske.
So when Hurter found himself in trouble in the fifth inning Wednesday, Hinch knew exactly whom to call.
With David Fry scheduled to bat and the ever-dangerous José Ramírez on deck after that, Brieske trotted in from the bullpen to extinguish another fire. It took four pitches for him to dispose of Fry, a quick at-bat punctuated by a nasty slider for a swinging strike three.
“Beau comes in in a really big spot. In a perfect world, I’d love to bring these guys in, clean inning, big lead, deep breath and attack guys that they can match up with — and that never happens, especially in October,” the Tigers skipper said postgame. “So strike-throwing is key. Being at your best from pitch one.”
Brieske then relied on his changeup to neutralize Ramírez, who flied out harmlessly to center field to end the frame.
“You see the velocity up. You see the execution of big pitches to get the first batter out,” Hinch said afterward. “And our guys understand that they’re put in that position because every single person wearing the English D knows they can get the job done, and they continue to respond.”
Brieske wasn’t…