The Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers meet in an all-American League Central ALDS that pits baseball’s best bullpen against the sport’s hottest team. The best-of-five series begins Saturday in Cleveland with a trip to the ALCS to face the winner of the New York Yankees-Kansas City Royals series.

Playtimes

Game 1: Tigers on Guardians, Saturday, October 5, 1:08 p.m. ET, TBS/Max

Game 2: Tigers on Guardians, Monday, October 7, 4:08 p.m. ET, TBS/truTV/Max

Game 3: Guardians at Tigers, Wednesday, October 9, time to be announced, TBS/truTV/Max

Game 4: Guardians at Tigers, Thursday, October 10, time to be announced, TBS/truTV/Max (if required)

Game 5: Tigers at Guardians, Saturday, October 12, time TBC, TBS/max (if required)

Pitching matches

The Tigers should have a slight advantage overall in the rotation. Tarik Skubal is The That’s obviously a big advantage, but once you get into the meat of these two rotations – which can happen in a series longer than the wild card round – it’s not quite as obvious who has the best starting players.

For Cleveland, behind ace Tanner Bibee (and his elite slider), there are questions. Gavin Williams throws hard and has a great curveball, and he settled in down the stretch after perhaps correcting a tip, but also had a few blowups along the way. Matthew Boyd struck out many batters but failed to reach the fifth pitch in his last three starts. Ben Lively has been a revelation, but he has a poor strikeout rate and his fastball sits at 90 mph. Alex Cobb has a killer splitter, but he has a blister.

The Tigers have just as many potential weaknesses and most likely won’t have Skubal in Game 1. Casey Mize’s four-seam and splitter combination means he performs well against lefties, but he’s still looking for the right break ball to put it all together against righties. Reese Olson hasn’t had quite the same since coming back from injury in mid-September. Keider Montero can be great but has been inconsistent. Still, the Tigers have a slight advantage with Skubal in hand, and that’s what the predictions look like.

But in the bullpen, it’s crucial to the Guardians. They had the best bullpen in the regular season by any measure and boast fire (Emmanuel Clase’s 100 mph cutter), ice (rookie Cade Smith’s excellent fastball/splitter combo) and funk (Erik Sabrowski’s riding fastball from the left side). attend. . The Tigers have done it a little more with command than with things, and no one should underestimate Will Vest, Tyler Holton and Jason Foley, but they aren’t quite as dominant as the Cleveland team.

Give the Guardians a slight edge in a series where there may be a lot of substitutes. – Eno Sarris

Why the Guardians will win

It seems like yesterday when we were all ganging up on the sorry AL Central, teasing the teams for their pathetic play and paltry payrolls. Check them out now. They represent 75 percent of the ALDS. One team has been at the top of the AL Central for all but six days this season: the Guardians. They’re actually better built for October than they were for 162 games. Their bullpen was not only the best in baseball, but also the best by miles (or, well, ERA). They were more than half a run better than any other team. Since there are many days off before and during this playoff series, rookie manager Stephen Vogt can rely even more on Clase and Co. The Tigers and the rest of the AL Central got to know Hunter Gaddis, Cade Smith and Tim Herrin this summer. To everyone tuning in to the October excitement: Get ready to learn about baseball’s best-kept secret. — Zack Meisel

Why the Tigers will win

Have you seen this team play? Constantly with their backs against the wall, constantly creating magical moments out of nothing, these players are experiencing a peak that has made them the hottest team in the game for almost two months. They have proven that their patented “pitching chaos” can work. Skubal should be available to pitch in Game 2 and Game 5 (if needed). As fearsome as Cleveland’s bullpen is, the Tigers build their lineups in hopes of securing small advantages in late-inning scenarios. They just beat an Astros team that, on paper, had far more talent. The Tigers’ lack of impact on offense continues to be a concern, but if they can strike early against Cleveland’s starters, there’s no reason they can’t continue to win. — Cody Stavenhagen

Check back later for series predictions from The Athletic’s MLB team.

Guardians Player Spotlight: José Ramírez, 3B

Perhaps the most common topic of conversation about José Ramírez — who is on his way to his sixth top-six finish in AL MVP voting in the last eight years — is that he is underrated. If this conversation happens often enough, he may reach fair evaluation status. With a 40/40 season, he finished one home run shy of becoming the seventh player in league history, but no one outside of Cleveland noticed as Shohei Ohtani was busy recording a 50/50 season. That’s why Ramírez said he will reach “80/80” next year. “Nothing is impossible” – in one of those scenes where everyone else in the room is laughing but he remains stoic and you think, “Wait, maybe he’s serious.” Ramírez is Cleveland’s heartbeat, a guy who makes you sit in your seat can hit you in the gap and run until your helmet flies off. He’s just torture to play against. And a starring role in a postseason run could finally propel him into the ranks of properly rated players. His teammate Austin Hedges said: “These are the moments that make you immortal. He’s already immortalized in Cleveland, but I’m dying for the world to immortalize him.” — Meisel

Tigers Player Spotlight: Tarik Skubal, LHP

Skubal is the obvious choice to put in the spotlight. If you told the Tigers now that they would come to Game 5 with Skubal on the mound, they would accept it. The presumed AL Cy Young Award winner gave up just one run over seven innings in his only start against the Guardians this season. His multiple attack schemes – fastball, changeup, sinker, slider – make him a threat to any hitter, and he has become an unpredictable force attacking the strike zone no matter what weapon he chooses. Counting the Wild Card Series, the Tigers are 22-10 on days Skubal starts this season. Without him they wouldn’t be here. Can he now take them one step further? — Stavenhagen

Go deeper

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Story from the tape

A must-read for parents or guardians

The unsung heroes who catapulted the Guardians into October

How the Guardians improbably marched into the playoffs

The stories behind the Guardians’ breakthrough take center stage in the bullpen

Inside Stephen Vogt’s path to becoming Cleveland’s manager

“Tigers” is a must read

Andy Ibáñez becomes baseball’s latest unlikely playoff hero

Tarik Skubal is the AL Cy Young favorite. Meet the “role model” he calls his brother

For Tigers manager AJ Hinch, his team’s victory represents a taste of redemption

Once a pariah, the Tigers’ Tyler Holton is now one of the best pitchers in baseball

Go deeper

Yankees vs. Royals ALDS preview: Predictions, pitching matchups and more

(Top image: José Ramírez: Brandon Sloter / Image Of Sport / Getty Images; Tarik Skubal: Tim Warner / Getty Images)