Detroit Tigers One Win Away From Championship Series After Game 3 Victory
It's been a long time since fans of the Detroit Tigers were able to watch their team play a home postseason game, but that's exactly what they got from this young, upstart group.
The Tigers rebounded from their 7-0 drubbing in Game 2 to take the next two contests in decisive fashion, stifling the Cleveland Guardians' offense to win 3-0 for the second time in a row.
This time, Detroit was faced with a much greater challenge since their ace Tarik Skubal wasn't available.
A.J. Hinch kept the same strategy he has used all October by throwing bullpen games, and even though their other young starter, Keider Montero, was given the start, he was pulled after just one inning.
The good thing was the Tigers already had a 1-0 lead after the first when Riley Greene drove in Parker Meadows who led off the game with a hit, but with Montero now in the dugout, it was up to Brant Hurter to keep the Guardians' bats quiet.
He did just that, throwing 3.1 scoreless innings, and even though he gave up five hits and only struck out one batter, he did enough to maintain the lead that expanded to 2-0 when Matt Vierling hit a sacrifice fly to score Jake Rogers following his leadoff double in the third.
Hurter turned things over to Beau Briske, who has been used in the closer role, at the top of the sixth inning, and just like he has been throughout the playoffs, he was effective by pitching two scoreless frames where he didn't allow a single hit.
Detroit tacked on another run in the sixth when Spencer Torkelson got his first career hit in the playoffs that happened to be an RBI double to give his team a commanding 3-0 advantage.
That was all the space the Tigers would need as their pitching staff continued to come in and do their jobs, giving up only one hit after Hurter's five.
Tyler Holton was called upon for the save and mowed down Cleveland in three up, three down fashion to close things out and give Detroit a home playoff win that hadn't been seen in a decade.
They are now one win away from reaching the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2013, getting the opportunity to accomplish that in front of their home fans.
