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Detroit Tigers' Jason Foley is peaking at perfect time, should be confident for playoffs
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- Detroit Tigers' Jason Foley is peaking at perfect time, should be confident for playoffs
Jason Foley jogged out of the bullpen to the same tune.
His entrance song — "What is Love" by Haddaway — played over the speakers at Comerica Park in the ninth inning of Friday's game, just as it has all season. This time, though, there were 44,435 fans cheering for him. The Detroit Tigers were one out away from advancing to the postseason for the first time since 2014 .
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It was the biggest moment of Foley's career.
Foley induced a flyout to right-center field on a second-pitch sinker to Andrew Vaughn , and although center fielder Parker Meadows and right fielder Wenceel Pérez collided, Pérez held onto the ball to secure a 4-1 win over the Chicago White Sox to send the Tigers to the playoffs.
"It just shows that all the hard work you put in, trusting the process, coming to work with a good attitude, it's going to pay off," Foley said Friday night, after his 28th save clinched a postseason berth for the Tigers. "I'm really proud of this team, and I'm proud of what we're doing."
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Detroit Tigers pitcher Jason Foley (68) celebrates striking out Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Jose Siri (22) during the ninth inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024.
Foley, a right-handed reliever, registered a 3.15 ERA with 20 walks and 46 strikeouts across 60 innings in 69 relief appearances in the 2024 season. The 28-year-old tied for fifth in the American League with 28 saves, trailing only Emmanuel Clase (47), Josh Hader (34), Kirby Yates (33) and Clay Holmes (30).
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He tied for ninth in saves among all MLB relievers.
Here's what stands out: Foley collected eight saves in his final 10 games, of which nine games were save situations. Not only did Foley get saves, but he also recaptured consistent 97 mph sinker velocity and, surprisingly, missed bats with his sinker more than ever before in his career.
He should enter October with confidence.
"Some of it, I think, is you just trust the process," Foley said. "I know it's kind of cliche, but it's a long season, and you're going to have some ups and downs. Not many people are going to be perfect during the season, like Shohei ( Ohtani ). Sometimes, it just comes and goes. You gotta trust the process, battle through the lows and trust it's going to come back."
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It was a rollercoaster of a fourth MLB season for Foley, as opponents hit .204 with three runs in March/April, .367 with seven runs in May, .167 with two runs in June, .368 with eight runs in July, .086 with three runs in August and .191 with five runs in September.
He learned to give himself grace when results didn't go his way.
"It's really hard," Foley said. "It's probably the hardest thing about this game, dealing with the struggles and trusting that you're going to find your way back. I'm not great at it. But you just gotta tell yourself that you've had success in this league and you know you can success, and if you keep attacking the zone, if you keep doing what you need to do on a daily basis, you're gonna probably find it again. But it's a really hard thing to do."
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Foley finished on a positive note in the regular season, posting a 1.59 ERA in 22⅔ innings over 26 games in August and September, with the Tigers winning 20 of those games. In that stretch, right-handers hit .180 with a .432 OPS and left-handers hit .074 with a .323 OPS.
He notched 13 of his 28 saves in the final two months.
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"Him evolving back into someone that I don't hesitate to turn the ball to at the end of the game, regardless of who's up, has been a real key component of these close games going in our way," manager A.J. Hinch said, as the Tigers won 13 of their final 15 one-run games in the regular season. "Early on, he was doing everything he could to capture a role in the ninth inning as the closer. Now I see him doing everything he can to get whatever outs he can whenever they are, and they are, the majority of times, the most important outs."
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Foley matured in his mindset in the ninth-inning role throughout the 162-game regular season, setting him up for success in high-leverage situations in the postseason. The Tigers — led by Hinch's decisions — will be aggressive in their bullpen usage, calling on their best relievers in the most important situations, even if it's not the ninth inning.
Hopefully, Foley takes everything he has learned into the playoffs.
He deserves to be confident.
"It's something that I've tried to work on and something that I think I could always get better at," Foley said. "It's certainly nice to not take the lows too heavily, find yourself out of it and help the team by throwing some good innings."
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Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple , Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Jason Foley is peaking just in time for playoffs
