For the Kansas City Royals, it's win-or-go-home time in the American League Division Series.
In the first of two ALDS games on Thursday, the Cleveland Guardians avoided elimination against the up-and-coming Detroit Tigers with a 5-4 win. They meet Saturday in Cleveland for a winner-take-all Game 5. Now, in the late matchup, the Royals are trying to keep the New York Yankees from celebrating an ALCS berth at their field in Kansas City.
We've covered everything from live updates and analysis during games to insights after the final pitch and next steps for each team.
Jump to: Live updates | Lineups, encounters
Live updates
Today's encounters
The series was tied 2-2
The best game of the series provided highlights for both teams, but it was the Guardians who forced a Game 5 in Cleveland on Saturday thanks to the heroics of designated hitter David Fry. who wasn't even in the starting line-up. Fry came off the bench and hit a two-run home run in the seventh, giving the Guardians, who were trailing 3-2 at the time, the lead. Fry added an RBI on a squeeze play two innings later, cementing his status as the night's MVP. The game was tied 1-1 and 2-2 before Detroit took its only lead in the sixth on an RBI hit by pinch-hitter Wenceel Perez. The drama continued in the later innings when Guardians seamer Emmanuel Clase was asked to complete a five-out save. He gave up a run in the ninth, but finished off Matt Vierling and the Tigers, giving him a strikeout.
What to watch in Game 5: The Tigers lost Game 4, but they have the automatic advantage heading into Game 5 because Tarik Skubal is fully rested and ready to play the biggest game of his life. The likely Cy Young winner beat the Guardians over seven innings in Game 2 and has yet to give up a run in the postseason. It's unclear what Cleveland will do to counter him – Matthew Boyd is the likely starter – but either way, the Guardians will be underdogs against one of the best in the game.
New York leads the series 2-1
Pitching Matchup: Gerrit Cole (8-5, 3.41 ERA) vs. Michael Wacha (13-8, 3.35 ERA)
Starting lineups:
Yankees
Gleyber Torres (R) 2B
Juan Soto (left) RF
Aaron Judge (R) CF
Austin Wells (left) C
Giancarlo Stanton (R) DH
Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L) 3B
Anthony Volpe (R) SS
Alex Verdugo (L) LF
Jon Berti (R) 1B
Royals
Michael Massey (L) 2B
Bobby Witt Jr. (R) SS
Vinnie Pasquantino (L) DH
Salvador Perez (R) C
Yuli Gurriel (R) 1B
MJ Melendez (L) LF
Tommy Pham (R) RF
Kyle Isbel (left) CF
Michael Garcia (R) 3B
