These Are Two Major Keys That Will Help Tigers Win Game 3 of ALDS

Throughout the entirety of this postseason run, the Tigers have heavily relied on timely hitting. They simply have not come through enough, though, and the pitching staff has had loads of pressure on them to deliver and keep things close.

Detroit's best offensive display came in the seventh inning of the third game against the Cleveland Guardians in the Wild Card. That inning started with a leadoff double from Javier Baez, and the offense passed the torch to the next guy. Wenceel Perez, Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene picked up three straight singles and helped put away the Guardians.

The key was their aggressiveness early in the count and shortening their approach. They didn't wait around and fall behind 0-2, but rather took advantage of the early strikes and found themselves stringing together consecutive hits.

According to Baseball Savant, Logan Gilbert hasn't been as sharp in the first inning. In the regular season, he allowed 11 total runs with four home runs. His numbers show promise in the second through fourth innings, but he has also ran into trouble in the middle part of the game.

So if Detroit wants to get their fans involved and receive the early momentum swing, the offense has to knock Gilbert out of the game early and get to the Seattle bullpen. His splitter and slider have been good strikeout pitches with a high whiff rate. If he gets ahead consistently, it could be a long afternoon for the Tigers.

Jack Flaherty Needs At Least 5 Strong Innings

Manager A.J. Hinch will hand the ball to the veteran Jack Flaherty for Game 3. The 29-year old has started 10 different postseason games, so he is no stranger to October. He got the start in Game 3 against Cleveland, also.

He threw 4.2 innings, allowing three hits on one run with four strikeouts. This season, Flaherty has found most of his outings fall in that four to six-inning range. In fact, he only surpassed six innings three times all season. It's safe to say the righty won't go deep into this game. However, he needs to help keep this contest competitive before he passes things to the bullpen to close it out.

The playoffs are full of giant momentum swings. Small wins at the plate or a few well executed pitches could make all the difference. The margins have been razor thin so far in this series. Hopefully, a well earned trip home can give the Tigers the boost they need to take a 2-1 series lead.

First pitch for Game 3 on Tuesday is set for 4:08 p.m. ET and will be televised on FS1.

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