“Don’t let the tigers get hot!” has been repeatedly said for the past few months. For those who are just tuning into the Tigers’ run, they have been dominant in the first rounds of the postseason. However, this was completely unexpected. The Tigers ended August 59-68 with a 0.2% chance of making the postseason. With the genius strategy behind Tigers Manager A.J. Hinch, they have been on a dominant winning streak since then. Their winning continued throughout September when the Tigers went 17-8, winning 2 out of their three games against the Baltimore Orioles and sweeping the Kansas City Royals in a 3-game series. Their regular season ended when they won 6 out of their 8 final games. With their outstanding performance throughout the end of the regular season, the Tigers snuck their way into the postseason as the last wild-card seed in the American League.
The 6-seed Detroit Tigers took on the 3-seed Houston Astros in the wild card series. All three games were held in Houston with the Tigers taking the win in Game 1 thanks to Tarik Skubal’s miraculous pitching performance. The 27-year-old left-hand pitcher threw for six innings, allowing 1 walk, 4 hits, and an impressive 6 strikeouts. This momentum led the Tigers to come out strong for Game 2. The timely bats of the Tigers came alive in the 8th inning when they were down 2-1. Thanks to Andy Ibanez and his base clearing double, the Detroit Tigers were victorious, defeating the Astros 5-2, ultimately winning the wild card series.
Now, the Tigers were challenged as they had to get ready to face the 2-seed Cleveland Guardians in the 5-game ALDS series. Game 1 in Cleveland was disappointing as the Tigers took the 7 to 0 loss against the raging Guardians. However, they came back fighting during Game 2 when Kerry Carpenter’s 3-run homer off Emmanuel Clase in the 9th inning led the Tigers to a 3-0 win over the Guardians. The series was now tied, and the Detroit Tigers were ready to make their debut in Detroit for the first postseason game since 2014 at Comerica Park. The Tigers were consistent in Game 3 putting up a run in the first, third, and sixth inning. Their performance in the box and on the field led to their 3-0 win against Cleveland in Detroit. From there, they were hoping to close out the series in Game 4 in Detroit. Unfortunately, thanks to Emmanuel Clase’s pitching performance during the last 5 outs of the games, the Tigers were defeated and will have to make their way back to Cleveland. However, they were determined through Game 4 putting up 9 hits including a home run from Zach McKinstry.
Looking forward to Game 5 in Cleveland at Progressive Field, the Tigers will have their ace and huge favorite to win the Cy Young award on the mound, Tarik Skubal. Skubal pitched in Game 2 in Cleveland and shut out the Guardians for 7 scoreless innings. “These elimination games are incredible,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “Everything that we’ve been playing for up to this point is now going to be on Saturday.” The Cleveland Guardians will have veteran and former Tiger on the mound Matthew Boyd. Skubal and Boyd are friends and mentors to each other as they are very similar pitchers and spent plenty of time together on the Tigers. The Game 5 classic will be played with the first pitch at 8:08 PM on Saturday, and the winner will advance to the ALCS to face off against the New York Yankees.
