Last time they were home, the Tigers' season was hanging by a thread. They return to Detroit two wins away from the ALCS. Game 3 of the ALDS Tuesday afternoon against the Mariners will be the Tigers' first time playing at Comerica Park in 16 days, their longest stretch of the season.
The wait should be worth it in front a fired-up crowd.
"It’s been a while," A.J. Hinch said Tuesday morning on 97.1 The Ticket. "That was a long, extended road trip, for all the right reasons, though. We’re going to be thrilled walking into Comerica Park today and playing in front of our home fans in the playoffs."
There's rain in the forecast, but don't sweat it: "We are going to get the game in," said Hinch. "It doesn’t look like it’s a wipeout." It might delay the start time of 4:08, but it won't dull the atmosphere at Comerica Park.
"There’s not much you can control in the scheduling anyway, but specifically in October, we’re just going to wait around for them to tell us when to play," said Hinch.
And when the Tigers take the field, "the crowd, the home-field advantage, it's legit," said Hinch. "It puts a ton of pressure on the opponent."
"The emotions of the playoffs brings its own intensity. When your crowd is behind you in the biggest moment, whether you’re up to bat and the pitcher is trying to make pitches and he’s falling behind, or if you're Jack Flaherty or Kyle Finnegan or Will Vest and you’re on the mound and the hitter’s under a lot of stress, I know not many people have felt the wrath of 45,000 screams at you but it is a legit emotional experience for guys.
"We just played in some of the more volatile environments, in Seattle specifically, but even Boston at the tail-end of the year on that Friday night, and Cleveland brought it pretty well in the playoffs. It’s nice to be in the white uniform and to wear it at home and have them rooting for you and feeling that backing that this city has always (given us), but it's grown the past couple years with this specific team."
Hinch's message to the fans packing Comerica this week?
"Come and enjoy it," he said. "This is the second year in a row we’ve been in this environment with playoff baseball. Detroit’s one of the best sports towns in the business and we love being at home, we love playing front of these fans with this team, and we’re looking forward to the environment and rewarding them with hopefully another playoff win."