The Tigers are stumbling into the end of the regular season as they cling to a one-game lead over the Guardians in the race for the American League Central crown. Tight division races are common this time of year, but usually not when the leading team held a 14-game lead in the division and was up 15 1/2 games on the team in second place in July.

Detroit was swept by the Braves on Sunday for its sixth loss in a row and ninth over its last 10 games. Luckily for the Tigers, Cleveland lost to the Twins on Sunday, which snapped an incredible 10-game winning streak during which the Guardians won 15 of 16. A 10 1/2 game lead on the Guardians at the start of September suddenly evaporated to one with six games left.

The good news for Detroit is that it still controls its own destiny with a three-game series against the Guardians in Cleveland beginning Tuesday. With Tigers fans searching for something, anything to cheer for lately, manager A.J. Hinch seems to like where his team sits and is keeping the faith.

"I don't see our guys quitting, I don't see our guys down, I don't see our guys pouting, I don't see our guys conceding," Hinch said after the loss to Atlanta Sunday via FanDuel Sports Network Detroit. "And we shouldn't. I want to remind everybody that we're a first-place team, and right now it's hard for everybody to look at us that way because the last week went the way it did.

"We're going to wake up tomorrow in first place with our destiny controlled by us against the team that's been as hot as you can get in baseball, and we get to play them in a three-game series. Like, sign me up."

He's right, but it's certainly a uniquely optimistic outlook when you consider the troubling recent stretch for his team. You can't change the past, though, and Hinch's Tigers can either leave Cleveland with the division clinched or with their once large lead officially gone.

Their ace and AL Cy Young Award frontrunner, Tarik Skubal, is slated to get the ball in the series opener against the Guardians. We'll see if Detroit's luck can finally turn around against the hottest team in baseball.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as A.J. Hinch Refuses to Panic Despite Tigers' Woes: 'Sign Me Up'.

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