Yankees vs. Tigers Prediction: New York Will Advance to ALCS over Detroit

So it all comes down to this.

Game 5 of the ALCS between the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers.  Many around baseball expected this series to come down to this, and here we are. One game to decide who will take on the Texas Rangers in the ALCS.

And the Yankees have the advantage.

So where do we begin to break down this matchup? Let's start with the pitching.

The Yankees will send the best young, rookie pitcher in baseball to the mound in the name of Ivan Nova. The Yankees rookie starter posted a 16-win season and proved he was the real deal in the Yanks Game 1 win over Detroit.

In the continuation game, Nova went 6.1 innings, allowing two runs on four hits and easily got over the playoff-debut hump that gives both Nova and the Yankees confidence he can do it again.

On the other side, the Tigers will send Doug Fister to the mound. The Game 1 starter didn't fare so well in his playoff debut, allowing six runs on seven hits over 4.2 innings in the loss.

Fister is in trouble tonight as he did not face the Bombers' offense when it is clicking on all cylinders and still got knocked around. Remember, six of the Bombers runs in Game 1 were off the bat of one man, Robinson Cano.

The Yankees come off a Game 4 beatdown of the Tigers, in which the Yankees offense exploded for 10 runs against Rick Porcello and the dreadful Tigers bullpen. It was a game that will have Fister shaking in his boots.

Just about everyone in the Yankees lineup, pinch-hitter Jesus Montero included, got a piece off the Tigers pitching. It was the first time this series the Bombers got collective production from several hitters in their lineup.

Not to mention, the pressure of a do-or-die Game 5 at Yankee Stadium is an advantage for the Bombers in itself, guaranteed to be a more pressure-packed situation than anything Fister has ever felt before.

The Yanks offense will get their runs and plenty of them. I don't see Fister lasting long and that will be a problem. The Tigers proved that the only thing certain about their 'pen is Jose Valverde. If the Yankees get into the Tigers bullpen early, this will be a major blowout.

New York won't need as much from their starter, having the best bullpen in baseball. Nova will give them the six innings they need and with a lead after six, the Yanks are unbeatable.

Come hell or high water, Joe Girardi will finish off the last three innings with the "So-Ro-Mo" combination that has proven to be successful for the Bombers this season. They are well rested and even if Nova gets into trouble early, it won't be out of the question for Girardi to go to them in the sixth.

In the outside chance that the unflappable Nova runs into trouble early, Girardi has his ace, CC Sabathia, waiting in the wings to do damage control. With Jim Leyland saying there is no chance we'll see Verlander again in this series, that is just another advantage that goes to New York.

When looking at the numbers and situation logically, Detroit will need a lot to go right in order to take Game 5 of the ALDS against the Yankees. The series victory is squarely in the Yanks control and they will have nobody to blame but themselves if they leave Yankee Stadium tonight with anything less than a win in the series finale.

@michaelmoraitis