SB Nation • 5 min read

ALDS Game 5 gamethread, 8:08 ET

One American League Division Series is over, and the other is heading back to Seattle. On Wednesday night, Toronto finished off the Yankees to earn itself three days of rest before facing the winner of Seattle v.

Detroit in the ALCS.

As for Detroit/Seattle, we’re back to T-Mobile Park for a winner-take-all Game 5. Seattle has the home advantage, but two things are working in Detroit’s favor: one is the Tigers’ 9-3 comeback win in Game 4, a gut punch for Seattle that shifted momentum in the series. The Mariners had been firmly in the driver’s seat for much of the game, with a 3-0 lead in the fifth inning. But the Tigers rallied to tie it, former Oriole Jahmai Jones doubling in a run that inning, and the Mariners’ bullpen totally unraveled, allowing three Detroit home runs after that.

The other thing working in Detroit’s favor tonight is, of course, Tarik Skubal, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner and front-runner to repeat. Then again, the Mariners are the only team to beat the Tigers in three games started by Skubal this season, including Game 2 of this ALDS.

The Mariners have decided to start the righty George Kirby, who also pitched Game 1 of this series. That time out, he threw six innings and allowed two runs on six hits in an eventual 3-2 extra-innings loss.

Whatever happens, there should be exciting baseball tonight—and a surefire sour grapes team for Birdland to root for against the Blue Jays.

I’ll leave you with dueling inspirational quotes from both sides:

Here’s Tigers manager A.J. Hinch on Skubal: “We win together, we lose together, but he leads us.”

And here’s Seattle shortstop J.P. Crawford: “When you get knocked down, you either stand up or you stay down. And we’re going to get back up and fight.”

Tigers lineup