With Tigers manager AJ Hinch now facing the start of a second playoff series and chaos on the mound, he sees no reason to change things.

Detroit traded away a strong starter in Jack Flaherty and relievers Andrew Chafin and Ricky Vanasco in late July, creating a need for creativity in covering innings but also opportunities for young relievers like Tyler Holton, Brenan Hanifee, and Brant Hurter.

“We have started to develop young pitchers who are still developing to become the pitchers they will be,” Hinch said. “And we realized we had a lot of strengths and had people who could do a lot of different things and come from different angles and with different approaches. Some are fastball-heavy, others are slider-happy. Some are up-and-comers.”

So as the Tigers figured out, player by player, how best to break in the rookies, they ended up with shorter outings mixed in with a bit more strategy, including who they faced first and in which innings they were used.

“When it starts to work, player buy-in multiplies,” Hinch said. “Guys enjoy it, our willingness to try anything. Since teams found it difficult to respond to this type of strategy, we started thinking, “Why should we change it?”

Hinch confirmed Friday that Holton will start Game 1 for the Tigers. He made three starts as an opener against the Guardians in a seven-day period, from July 23 to 30. Cleveland won two of those three games.

Skubal, who has won 18 games and is the presumptive favorite to win this year's AL Cy Young Award, will start Game 2, but the day off between games will help give Hinch's bullpen the rest it needs to stay in the game to be as flexible as possible at the start of the series.

Hinch said the familiarity between two division rivals doesn't mean either team will cut corners in preparation.

“If anything, you'll do more to make sure you don't miss anything because of that familiarity,” Hinch said. “It’s beautiful and practical.”

Vogt said Cleveland is ready.

“We are always prepared for anything that could come our way, and of course we know the Tigers and the bullpen strategies they have used,” Vogt said. “We will be prepared for whatever comes our way. We are preparing for anything.”

Catcher Austin Hedges said Cleveland hitters won't stray too far from their approach despite the chaos they face on the mound.

“There aren't too many different plans in the batter's box,” Hedges said. “Our team does a really good job of staying true to ourselves and our identity. No matter who we’re actually dealing with, the plan doesn’t really change from what you’re looking for.”

Hedges said that with so many new faces in Detroit's lineup and on the mound, the Guardians will have to rely much more on data rather than experience.

“It’s like a normal season where you have to have a plan based on the numbers and data you get,” Hedges said. “But then just rely on strengths. Just like we're going to lean on our pitchers' strengths and what makes them great. We’ve done that all year.”

Outfielder Lane Thomas said there is a lot of information available to hitters, but the key is to take what works best for you and apply it to each at-bat. It varies from batsman to batsman.

“Just knowing what type of fastball they have and what kind of secondary things they have and coming up with a plan from that, I think is the most important part,” Thomas said. “That doesn’t change over the course of the attack. I just go there with a plan and execute it.”