Tigers manager A.J. Hinch is planning to leave no stone unturned when Detroit collides with the host Cleveland Guardians in Game 5 of the American League Division Series on Saturday afternoon.
Hinch will be trying to rally the troops after pinch hitter David Fry smacked a go-ahead two-run homer on Thursday to put Cleveland up 4-3 with two outs in the seventh inning of Game 4.
Fry later plated Brayan Rocchio with a sacrifice bunt in the top of the ninth, and Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase did just enough in the home half of the inning to allow Cleveland to escape with a 5-4 victory.
Now Hinch is determined to make sure that the Tigers leave everything out on the field in their biggest game in more than a decade. The winner will go on to face the New York Yankees in the AL Championship Series.
“Everything’s on the table,” Hinch said. “Everything’s on the line. When you play a team in a Game 5 or a Game 7, depending on the series, it’s very obvious that everything matters. … And factor in it’s a division opponent where we’re even more familiar with them.
“Something unpredictable will happen (Saturday), I don’t know what that is. But baseball’s incredible this time of year when you have games like this and opportunities to be great.”
Detroit will try to maximize that opportunity with left-hander Tarik Skubal (1-0, 0.00 ERA) on the mound.
Skubal looks to send the Tigers to the ALCS for the first time since 2013 after allowing just three hits across seven scoreless innings on Monday in Game 2. He struck out eight and didn’t issue a walk but still had to settle for a no-decision.
Even though Skubal is the frontrunner to land the AL Cy Young Award, Fry likes the Guardians’ chances against the 27-year-old.
“I think we’ll have a pretty good game plan to go against him,” Fry said. “He’s had a heck of a season. He’s been really good and threw well the other day and we’re going to have to be ready to go. But it’ll be a fun one, and Cleveland will be loud.”
The Guardians could send southpaw Matthew Boyd (0-0, 0.00) to the mound, or they could opt to go with a bullpen game.
Boyd also failed to factor into the decision in Game 2, scattering four hits across 4 2/3 scoreless innings. He walked two and fanned five.
Whoever gets the nod for Cleveland might not have to deal with Detroit outfielder Kerry Carpenter, who is nursing an injured hamstring. Carpenter is 3-for-10 (.300) with a home run and three RBIs in the ALDS.
Hinch marked Carpenter as a game-time decision.
Meanwhile, Skubal and the Tigers will attempt to slow down Steven Kwan, who went 3-for-5 with two runs on Thursday and is hitting .500 (8-for-16) in the series.
The Guardians are gunning for their first ALCS appearance since 2016, when they eventually went on to lose to the Chicago Cubs in Game 7 of the World Series.
Saturday’s game was originally scheduled for 8:08 p.m. ET but was moved up seven hours due to inclement weather that is supposed to roll into Cleveland.
