MLB Playoffs 2024: Tigers and Guardians’ biggest question ahead of crucial ALDS Game 5

Major League Baseball’s divisional round will culminate on Saturday with Game 5 between the Detroit Tigers and the Cleveland Guardians. (The game was originally scheduled for the evening, but had to be postponed until the afternoon due to expected inclement weather in the Cleveland area.) The winner of Saturday’s contest advances to the American League Championship Series, where they will face each other New York Yankees in a best-of-seven set to determine who represents the AL in the World Series.

Before we get too close to the first pitch, let’s answer a question we have about each team related to Game 5. With that in mind, let’s get down to business.

Tigers: Can Skubal keep Miracle Run alive?

It’s fair to say that no one outside the Tigers’ clubhouse expected them to be one win away from playing for the pennant. That includes Detroit’s front office, the same group that spent the deadline trading away starter Jack Flaherty, outfielder Mark Canha, catcher Carson Kelly and reliever Andrew Chafin.

Thanks to a variety of factors, including creative pitching management and improved defense, the Tigers were still able to take a commanding lead in the second half. They’ve been playing with the house money for weeks. Can they continue like this?

One factor in their favor is the presence of left-hander Tarik Skubal. The AL’s expected Cy Young Award winner will make his second start in the series on Saturday. In his first outing, he pitched seven shutout innings against the Guardians, holding them to three hits and no walks while striking out eight of the 23 batters he faced.

Skubal is the type of pitcher who can lead his team to victory in almost any game by minimizing the need for run and bullpen support. He made it in Game 2. We’ll see if he can do it again in Game 5.

Guardians: How many pitchers?

While the focus for the Tigers in Game 5 is an individual pitcher, the question we have for the Guardians is about the collective. You’ve heard the old quote from Earl Weaver about Momentum being the pitcher of the next game – Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt, in his first year at the helm, might say that Momentum is the pitcher of the next inning.

Vogt will send veteran left-hander Matthew Boyd to the bump to start the contest. Don’t expect this to be a long-term agreement. Boyd averaged five innings per pop with the Guardians during the regular season, and it has been five weeks since he went five frames in a single appearance.

Additionally, the Guardians have used at least five pitchers in every game so far in this series, with Vogt using six and seven pitchers in Games 2 and 3, respectively. Given what’s at stake on Saturday, we expect Vogt to take a lot of steps through trips to the mound.