It came down to Game 5 for the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians, who faced off Saturday for the chance to advance to the ALCS, where the New York Yankees await.
After a series dominated by pitching and defense, the Guardians’ bats finally woke up in this one, even with Detroit ace Tarik Skubal on the mound. A grand slam from Lane Thomas led the way as the Guardians won 7-3 to clinch a spot in their first ALCS since 2016.
Tarik Skubal took the mound for the Tigers looking to build on his brilliant season. He pitched a total of 17 scoreless innings in this postseason, looking virtually unhittable along the way, before the Guardians scored five runs in the fifth inning of Game 5.
Singles from Andres Gimenez, Steven Kwan and David Fry preceded a hit by pitch of Jose Ramirez that scored Cleveland’s first run. Thomas followed with his game-changing blast. Skubal finished the sixth inning, having given up five runs on six hits with six strikeouts, but the damage was done.
The Tigers kept battling and got as close as 5-3 before the Guardians tacked on two insurance runs in the late innings. Steven Kwan notched his third three-hit game of this series, and Thomas drove in a total of five runs in the clincher.
For the Guardians, Matthew Boyd pitched the first two innings, and six relievers followed before Emmanuel Clase took over for the final six outs. Clase got Kerry Carpenter swinging in the eighth for his biggest out of the game — and perhaps some revenge from Game 2.
Game 1 of the ALCS is Monday in New York.
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