The Detroit Tigers have their eyes on their first American League Championship Series appearance since 2013, and with a 2-1 series lead against the Cleveland Guardians, the only thing standing in their way is a team that’ll be fighting for its playoff life in Thursday’s ALCS Game 4. All three games in this series have been shutouts, with Detroit taking each of the last two games by 3-0 scores. The Tigers pieced together a bullpen game to win Game 3 and their six pitchers combined to walk just two and scatter six hits — five of which were allowed by Brandt Hurter, who got the win after going 3 1/3 innings. Cleveland will need to get some runs on the board against starter Reese Olson if they want to stay in the series. The Guardians — who’ve managed just nine hits in the last two games — will send Tanner Bibee to the hill.
Meanwhile, the New York Yankees can close out the Kansas City Royals Thursday in their ALDS matchup. The Yanks grabbed a 2-1 series lead Wednesday night, powered by a go-ahead eighth-inning solo homer from Giancarlo Stanton in the 3-2 win. Despite being a little shaky in his Game 1 start against the Royals — a game the Yankees won — ace Gerrit Cole will get the ball to try to get New York to the ALCS for the 11th time since 2000. Michael Wacha takes the mound for the Royals with the season on the line in Kansas City.
Friday’s ALDS schedule and how you can watch:
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Guardians at Tigers — 6:08 p.m. ET | TNT/Max (DET leads, 2-1)
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Yankees at Royals — 8:08 p.m. ET | TNT/Max (NYY leads, 2-1)
