Tigers vs. Yankees: Big Bats Will Lead Yankees to ALCS

By slamming the Detroit Tigers 10-1 on Tuesday, the New York Yankees earned their chance at Game 5 in the American League Divisional Series; a game they will win.

The Yanks are back in the comfort of Yankee Stadium for the winner-take-all matchup at 8 p.m. tonight. The game will be televised on TBS, and Detroit fans will be covering their eyes throughout as the Yankees will bash the ball in a dominant performance.

Ivan Nova takes the mound for the Yankees. He pitched 6 1/3 quality innings in Game 1, and will make his first career postseason start tonight. The rookie hasn’t recorded a loss since June, and his 16-4 record during the season has people raving about him.

Regardless of Nova’s past statistics, it will be the Yankees sluggers that will get the job done. Nova got the run support in Game 1, and he’ll get it again tonight because a few Yankees brushed the dust off their bats in Game 4.

Starting the game for the Tigers is Doug Fister, who was rocked by the Yankees in Game 1. He allowed six earned runs in 4 2/3 innings, a stat line that’s making Tigers fans shake a little coming into the deciding game of the series.

However, don’t expect this game to be a blowout. The Tigers will be able to string together some hits on the young Yankee pitcher. Miguel Cabrera, Delmon Young and Jhonny Peralta are not ready to go home, and will be able to get their bat on a few Nova offerings.

Whether or not Nova is rattled by this and how the Yankee coaches handle Nova during the game will determine how close the game is. I’m confident Nova will keep his cool and the Yankees will pull him at the right time.

New York has scored 19 runs in two wins, and just seven in two losses. Expect the Yankees to get near double digits again as they move on to face the Texas Rangers in the American League Championship Series (ALCS).

Prediction: Yankees 8, Tigers 5