Tigers ready to 'fight and claw' against Guardians in decisive Game 5 of ALDS
The Detroit Tigers clubhouse was dead silent.
The room felt empty, like all the air was left out of a balloon after the Cleveland Guardians beat the Tigers, 5-4, in Game 4 of the American League division series on Thursday night.
Now, these two teams will play once again in an elimination game Saturday at Progressive Field in Cleveland.
"We've had to fight and claw to get to this point," Tigers outfielder Matt Vierling said late Thursday. "So same thing here. We're gonna have to fight and claw to get this win in Game 5."
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In some ways, this team has been prepped for this moment. The Tigers have been playing must-win games for two months.
Even though, yes, this is different.
This is truly backs against the wall.
"It sucks," Vierling said. "But we just got to move on and get ready to go for Game 5. I know that this group has been pretty resilient all year, so we have faced adversity before. I feel like we're a pretty tough group."
That toughness will be tested once again.
On the positive side? The Tigers have an ace up their sleeve.
Tarik Skubal — the best pitcher in the American League — will pitch Game 5.
"He's built for the moment, all the confidence in the world," Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson said. "Losing sucks, whether it's Game 50 or October, you know. So regardless, we hate losing."
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Layers of a loss
There are so many layers and ramifications to this loss.
If the Tigers would have won Thursday, they would have started Skubal in Game 1 of the ALCS, which would have been a huge opportunity to set the tone and take control.
But that has been blown.
Now, they need Skubal, at his absolute best, just to keep the run going.
"It's always comforting to have Tarik Skubal on the mound," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said.
If you wonder how Hinch will approach this game – what he will tell his team – he started to send a clear message on Thursday night.
"These elimination games are incredible," Hinch said. "Everything that we've been playing for up to this point is now going to be on Saturday. So our guys will be able to reset and we'll pack tonight. We'll get on a plane. We'll go have a short workout and get the opportunity to do it on their turf. And I expect them to show up ready to play, too. Why wouldn't these two teams come with everything they got on Saturday?"
One other massive negative came out of Thursday night.
Kerry Carpenter hurt his leg as he rounded third base.
"He's going to get some tests on his left hamstring," Hinch said. "And anytime a player like him has to leave the game, it's concerning, but I'm going to hold off any thoughts until the doctors give me an update and he gets imaging and all the things that we need to do prior to Saturday."
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Leadership emerges
You can learn a lot about a team after a loss. It’s when true leadership emerges.
And I saw something telling late Thursday night.
In the quiet of the room, Vierling went up to rookie shortstop Trey Sweeney.
"I told him, 'Great job tonight,'" Vierling said. "'Way to go out there and grind.'"
This is the essence of a leader.
It wasn’t like some false, rah-rah talk.
It looked genuine.
"It’s what I learned in Philly," Vierling said. "You're disappointed. Obviously we're all disappointed. But, what can we do? We just got to keep on chugging along and even-keel."
Keep chugging along.
Hasn’t that been the theme of this team?
Fighting and clawing and never giving up?
No matter how dire the situation?
What? You don't remember the trade deadline.
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Even though this team looked deflated Thursday night, I saw some life. Torkelson walked through the clubhouse and fist-pumped a teammate.
"We don’t want it easy," Torkelson said, breaking into a smile.
And he repeated that thought with the media.
"Still one win away," Torkelson said. "That's the mindset, you know. We don't want it easy, you know, we knew it wasn't going to be easy. And we like it this way."
OK, that’s not entirely true.
They would much rather have won this game.
So be it. Nothing about this season has been easy for this team.
"Same game, same game," Torkelson said. "I feel like we we've showed a lot of grit, you know, throughout this entire year, the last couple months, and it's the same game, whether it's Game 1 or an elimination game, they're going to bring their best, we're going to bring our best. And I like our chances."
So here we go.
Game 5.
Skubal on the mound.
The Tigers in another must-win game.
Which has been the story of this year.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.