ALCS bound: Tigers hold on for thrilling win, knock out Yankees

Papa Grande and his Tigers are heading to the American League Championship Series. (Photo: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton)

Playoff baseball is meant to be as tense and exciting as Game 5 between the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees was. The elimination game was terrifying to watch. A deep breath was taken as each pitch was thrown, particularly from the right-handed Joaquin Benoit, who made Tigers fans sweat bullets and cringe in pain.

Don Kelly and Delmon Young struck quick against New York starter Ivan Nova, hitting back-to-back solo-homers in the first inning. That 2-0 lead was far from safe, but Detroit starting pitcher Doug Fister did an impressive job of keeping the Yankees potent bats silent while New York’s manager Joe Girardi made pitching change after pitching change.

By the seventh inning, the advantage had been cut in half and added to, standing at 3-1 as Benoit took the mound with one out. He struggled from the get-go and allowed consecutive singles to load the bases. The tying run was on second. Another well-placed single would tie the game and send a stadium ready to erupt in a frenzy. This was hard to watch.

Alex Rodriguez was up in a position to come up clutch, earn his pay, and win the support of Yankee fans with high expectations, but as has been the case many times throughout his tenure in New York, he didn’t deliver. There was a collective groan from the 50,000 filling the stadium instead of a raucous cheer. He went down on five pitches, striking out; he whiffed on a changeup, which was Benoit’s best pitch throughout his long, nail-biting outing.

And it was a pitch that, surprisingly, he went away from facing the next hitter, Mark Teixeira. The first two he threw were balls, and he probably didn’t want to risk uncorking one past catcher Mike Avila, but the rest of the at-bat may have gone smoother if he trusted the deceptive offering. As it was, three fastballs ensued. A walk to bring in a run was the result.

The lead was one, and the situation managed to get more pressure-packed and more terrifying as Nick Swisher strode to the plate. As each pitch was thrown to New York’s dependable right-fielder, the worst was expected. How could a fan, whether they root for the Yankees or Tigers, not? As can be imagined, we all had an even tougher time watching this at-bat than its predecessors, but the pain soon went away as Benoit fooled Swisher with his changeup for a second strike then blew an outside heater by his bat for a third.

As Marc Normandin, a baseball writer, wrote on Twitter, “When Benoit misses, he misses by a mile, but when he gets close hey look another strikeout.” This was true. The veteran reliever threw 15 balls to 23 strikes, yet he had three strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings. He gave Tigers fans a heart attack in the process, but after a much smoother eighth he managed to hand the ball to Valverde with the slim lead intact.

After retiring Derek Jeter on a loud, deep flyball to send Game 5 to the ninth inning, the stadium went silent. There were few Tigers fans in attendance, if any, so this description of the scene was literal. They knew the heart of New York’s lineup needed to come through and notch Valverde’s first blown save since August of 2010 or watch their team make vacation plans.

The entertaining Valverde, nicknamed “Papa Grande”, would face Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano, and Alex Rodriguez in the bottom of the ninth, a trio that hit 85 homers during the regular season. As was the case all evening and all series, every pitch was nerve-racking. Nearly everyone was standing in Yankees Stadium. They had looks of absolute terror and worry, with a little hope mixed in. It was a sight that epitomized why baseball, and especially playoff baseball, is so gripping, so enjoyable, so engaging. At any moment, a jubilant or depressed feeling can be produced. There was plenty of both on this night.

The Tigers would experience the former as Rodriguez swung through a fastball to end the Yankees season. The fans turned to ice, with blank stares, trying to process what had just taken place. Heads were hung, and a minimal amount of words were spoken. It was a beautiful sight.

Detroit’s celebration was even more so. Valverde, as usual, did his happy dance after the strikeout was recorded, and thereafter all that could be heard was the joyful screams from the Tigers dugout as they began to rush the field. After a fitting end to a riveting series, they are now heading to a stage they haven’t reached since 2006, the ALCS, in the pursuit of a championship they haven’t won since 1984.

“The Yankees are so good that I would be lying if I said it didn’t give me a little extra satisfaction to be able to do it here in the fifth game,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “This will be a game I’ll remember for the rest of my life.” If Leyland’s keeps playing this well, by the end of the playoff it could be a season to remember, too.