Can Detroit Tigers Figure Out Cleveland Guardians Ace To Avoid Game 5?
The Detroit Tigers are on the cusp of yet another improbable accomplishment in the 2024 season.
With their victory on Wednesday over the Cleveland Guardians, they are now ahead 2-1 in their ALDS matchup. Game 4 will be played at 6:08 p.m. ET on Thursday evening.
As the case has been throughout the postseason, the Tigers are viewed as being at a disadvantage. In game that likely American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal has not started, manger A.J. Hinch has opted to go with bullpen games.
It is the same strategy he used throughout the second half of the season after Jack Flaherty was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Reese Olson, Casey Mize and Matt Manning were on the injured list.
Miraculously, the strategy has continued to work. In Game 4, it will be put to the test once again.
But, the thing that matters most is how the lineup will fare. Toeing the rubber for the Guardians as they face elimination is their best-starting pitcher, Tanner Bibee.
Jesse Rogers of ESPN believes that is the most important thing to watch for when the teams take the field Thursday night.
“The Guardians have one thing going for them in Game 4 -- their hottest pitcher will take the ball in an elimination game for them. Tanner Bibee was outstanding in Game 1, even though he only went 4⅔ innings and had a 5-0 first-inning lead thanks to the offense. Nonetheless, Bibee looked great. Cleveland will have the pitching advantage on Thursday though Skubal looms for Game 5. But the Guardians have to get there first,” the MLB expert wrote.
Facing a perceived starting pitching disadvantage is nothing new for Detroit. That is how things are viewed in every non-Skubal start.
However, that strong performance in Game 1 of the series was a bit of an anomaly for Bibee based on what we saw in the regular season. He made four starts against the Tigers this year and wasn’t anywhere near as dominant as he allowed 11 runs in 22 innings pitched.
If the Tigers can jump him again in that fashion in Game 4, they could very well be punching their ticket to the ALCS for the first time since 2013. Kerry Carpenter, Riley Greene, Colt Keith and Zack McKinstry are some of the hitters with success in their careers against Bibee.
Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.