Yankees vs. Tigers: 4 Predictions for ALDS Game 4

After last night's thrilling ALDS win over the New York Yankees, the Detroit Tigers will have a chance to clinch the series in tonight's Game 4.

They will be going up against Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett and will have Rick Porcello on the mound, which probably isn't a good thing for Detroit.

There's a decent chance that this one could be a slugfest.

Either way, here's four things that will likely happen tonight.

4. Rick Porcello May Not Last Long

Hopefully, this won't be the case in Game 4, but unfortunately, Rick Porcello hasn't pitched very well in a long time.

He obviously doesn't have to go out and throw eight or nine innings, but he needs to give a quality start and at least go five or six.

If he throws five quality innings, you'd almost have to be happy with that, seeing as how poorly he's pitched over the last few months.

Porcello just can't afford to go out there and get knocked out right away.

There's a good chance that we see Al Alburquerque again tonight, who will have to rebound from his last outing.

We'll probably see Phil Coke and Ryan Perry as well, but hopefully the game will be well in hand if Perry comes in.

3. Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez Won't Go Hitless Again

We saw it happen countless times throughout the season.  Martinez and Cabrera have a rough night, but somebody else in the lineup gets the job done.

That's exactly what happened last night.  Guys like Jhonny Peralta, Ramon Santiago and Delmon Young stepped up in a big way.

Well, they won't need to if Cabrera and Martinez can get the job done.

Martinez didn't look comfortable at the plate all night.  Cabrera, on the other hand, hit a ball to dead center that almost flew out.  He was also intentionally walked at one point.

Neither player has to go out and hit home runs, but they just need to get hits.

Hopefully, each of them can make their presence felt tonight.

2. A.J. Burnett Will Get Rocked

We have no idea how A.J. Burnett is going to pitch tonight.

He could go out there and throw great, or he could get rocked.  His inconsistency makes it hard to predict.

Seeing as how bad he's pitched lately, you'd think it would be the latter.  His ERA is currently over five, which led to a demotion from the rotation to the bullpen.

It probably was never too likely, but there was even some talk that he may be left off the ALDS roster.

New York didn't want to start him in this series.  The only way they'd start Burnett is in an emergency, and that's exactly what this is.

This bodes well for the Tigers.  If Rick Porcello can at least pitch decently, then the Tigers will have a great chance to win this game.

1. The Tigers Will Clinch a Spot in the ALCS Tonight

If the Tigers lose tonight, the series heads back to New York.  Detroit does not want to let that happen, so they will get the job done here at home.

The fact that A.J. Burnett is pitching seems like a huge positive for the Tigers.  If they hit Sabathia as well as they did last night, imagine what they can do against Burnett.

Even though it's technically not, the Tigers need to treat this game like it's a must-win.

If they lose tonight, their chances of winning the series probably aren't very good, having to play Game 5 in New York.

The Tigers know this, so they will win tonight.

Celebrations will take place after the game, as they will wait to see whether their ALCS opponent will be Tampa Bay or Texas.