The Detroit Tigers could not close out the Cleveland Guardians in Game 4 of the ALDS on Thursday night at Comerica Park and will now have to head south for a winner-take-all Game 5 on Saturday.

The Tigers entered the night with a 2-1 series lead over the Cleveland Guardians in the series, but the AL Central champions forced a Game 5 with a 5-4 road win, powered by a three-RBI performance from David Fry. Detroit shut down Cleveland for consecutive shutout wins to take control of the series, but gave up five runs on 11 hits in Game 4.

Cleveland struck first with three singles in the first inning to snap their scoreless streak and the Tigers equalized with a Trey Sweeney sacrifice fly in the second inning. José Ramírez gave Cleveland the lead again with a no-doubt solo home run off Tyler Holton but Zach McKinstry answered with his own solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to maintain the tie. In the sixth, pinch-hitter Wenceel Pérez drove in a run with an RBI single to the opposite field. But, David Fry hit a two-run home run off Beau Brieske in the seventh to put Cleveland ahead again. Both teams added one run in the ninth, but the Tigers could not find the second, tying run to force extra innings.

The Guardians rolled with their ace Tanner Bibee as their Game 4 starter and went to the bullpen after four innings. Reliever Hunter Gaddis picked up the win. The Tigers started Reese Olson for his first career postseason start and he gave up one run in four innings while reliever Beau Brieske was in line for the loss after giving up the game-winning home run to Fry.

Game 5 is scheduled for Saturday at 4:38 p.m. at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

Detroit Tigers vs. Guardians ALDS Game 4 game recap, highlights

• Box score.

Middle 9th: Guardians tack on run on bunt; Tigers trailing 5-3

The Guardians picked up some insurance. Jackson Jobe allowed two singles to put two runners on with one out before he was pulled for Will Vest to face David Fry. Fry drove in his third run of the game with a safety squeeze bunt that caught the Tigers completely off-guard and plated Brayan Rocchio from third base. The Tigers have their 9-1-2 hitters coming up in the bottom of the inning with Justyn-Henry Malloy leading off as a pinch-hitter for Jake Rogers.

End 8th: Tigers threaten but don't score, Jobe handles top of 8th; Tigers trailing 4-3

Riley Greene started the inning with a single right back up the middle off left-handed Tim Herrin. Andy Ibáñez hit one to the right field warning track for a long flyout in the next at-bat, coming up just short of a go-ahead home run. Wenceel Pérez reached on a single to put two on-base with one out, prompting Cleveland to bring in closer Emmanuel Clase for a five-out save. Clase got Zach McKinstry to ground out and struck out Trey Sweeney swinging.

Rookie pitching phenom and top prospect Jackson Jobe came in to face Cleveland's middle of the lineup, starting with cleanup hitter Josh Naylor. Naylor chased an outside fastball and popped out in foul territory to Matt Vierling at first base. Lane Thomas worked a 3-2 count in the next at-bat but he was late on a 99.6 mph fastball on the outside corner and flew out to Wenceel Pérez in right field.

Pérez had a chance to end the inning on a Will Brennan line drive to deep right field, but Pérez dropped the catch as he collided with the wall, resulting in a double. In the next at-bat, Andres Gimenez smoked a groundball to the hole between Colt Keith and Vierling, but Keith made a diving stop and flipped it to first for a scoreless inning.

End 7th: Guardians take 4-3 lead on David Fry 2-run HR

The Guardians re-took the lead with some pinch-hit magic of their own. Guardians manager Stephen Vogt pinch-hit David Fry to face the left-handed Sean Guenther, but A.J. Hinch responded by calling Beau Brieske out of the bullpen. Brieske, a righty, gave up a 2-run home run to Fry to put Cleveland ahead again. Brieske got ahead 0-2, but then had two balls and then delivered a fastball down the middle on the home run.

The Tigers could not answer Fry's blast. Jake Rogers struck out looking, Parker Meadows popped up in the infield and Matt Vierling struck out after Jace Jung drew a walk in his pinch-hitting spot.

End 6th: Wenceel Pérez gives the Tigers 3-2 lead with RBI single

The managerial chess paid off for the Tigers once again. Manager A.J. Hinch decided to pinch-hit Wenceel Pérez for Spencer Torkelson against right-handed reliever Hunter Gaddis. Pérez, a switch-hitter, took a low and inside slider to the opposite field and landed a bloop single in left-center to score Kerry Carpenter from second.

Tyler Holton got the 1-2-3 inning he just missed out on in the fifth. Lane Thomas flew out to Matt Vierling in right to kick things off, followed by Holton snagging a line drive back up the middle and striking out Andres Gimenez with a low and outside slider.

End 5th: Jose Ramirez hits solo HR, Zach McKinstry responds with HR; Game tied at 0

The Guardians' best player couldn't be held down for too long, but the Tigers' third baseman had his own answer in the bottom of the inning.

Jose Ramirez turned on a changeup right down the middle from reliever Tyler Holton and sent it 418 feet over the bullpen and into the sea of Tigers fans. Holton came on as the first reliever to replace Reese Olson and quickly got two outs against Steven Kwan and Kyle Manzardo before the home run. Before the at-bat, Ramirez was 1-for-12 in the series, but came up big in a massive moment.

But, Zach McKinstry answered with his own home run to left field to lead off the bottom of the inning. On the fifth pitch of the at-bat, McKinstry took a high and outside fastball for a ride to the opposite field and barely cleared the left-field fence for a solo home run to tie the game. McKinstry sent the ball 354 feet into the Tigers' bullpen as Jackson Jobe was warming up.

End 4th: Tigers, Guardians both have 1-2-3 innings; Game tied at 1

Riley Greene started the inning with a hard-hit groundball single back up the middle into center field, but the Tigers still went down 1-2-3. Colt Keith watched a fastball at the bottom of the zone for strike three and Spencer Torkelson shot a ground ball off the end of his bat directly to Andres Gimenez at second to turn a double play.

Olson had his first 1-2-3 inning the second time against the bottom of Cleveland's lineup. Andres Gimenez tried to start the inning laying down a bunt but popped out to Spencer Torkelson at first, followed by Bo Naylor grounding out to second and Brayan Rocchio flying out to right field.

End 3rd: Tigers' bats quiet; Game tied at 1

The Tigers' top of the order went down 1-2-3 in their second time going up against Bibee. He got Parker Meadows and Matt Vierling to roll over for groundouts and he struck out Kerry Carpenter with a bouncing curveball.

Olson seemed well on his way to a quick 1-2-3 inning, but gave up a pair of two-out singles to Josh Naylor and Lane Thomas to create a threat. Olson battled with Will Brennan and reached a 3-2 count and got Cleveland's right fielder to get way out in front of and chase a low curveball for the inning-ending strikeout.

End 2nd: Tigers tie game at 1 with Sweeney sac fly

The Tigers loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the second. Colt Keith started the inning by drawing a walk, followed by Spencer Torkelson poking a single into right field after battling back from an 0-2 hole. Zach McKinstry loaded the bases with a walk, and Trey Sweeney drove in Keith with a sacrifice fly to center field. The rally ended after that, however, when Jake Rogers lined out to shortstop and Torkelson got doubled up at second base after taking too aggressive of a secondary lead.

Reese Olson struck out Andres Gimenez on a slider in the dirt, Bo Naylor with a fastball at the eyes before walking the No. 9 hitter, Brayan Rocchio. In his second time facing Steven Kwan, Olson got him to miss on a curveball and pop out to Trey Sweeney at shortstop.

End 1st: Guardians string together 3 hits for a run; Tigers trailing 1-0

The Guardians snapped their 20-inning scoreless streak in their first time to bat. Steven Kwan started things with a line-drive single to left-center, followed by a Kyle Manzardo single to right field. Reese Olson then settled in and got Jose Ramirez to fly out and Josh Naylor to strike out, but Lane Thomas slapped a groundball single between first and second base for an RBI single.

Parker Meadows hit a leadoff double on a fly ball that found a patch of grass just between right fielder Will Brennan and centerfielder Lane Thomas to put a runner in scoring position instantly. But, Kerry Carpenter struck out on a fastball in a 3-2 count, Matt Vierling popped up to second base and Riley Greene flew out to left field to end the threat.

Tigers vs. Guardians ALDS Game 4 pregame notes

The Tigers are one win away from their first appearance in the ALCS since 2013 after shutting the Guardians out for the second straight 3-0 win to go up 2-1 in the series. The Tigers relied on another bullpen day and a handful of clutch hits with runners in scoring position to take the first home playoff game at Comerica Park in a decade in front of an amped crowd.

The Tigers' offense got contributions throughout the lineup, including RBIs from Riley Greene, Matt Vierling and Spencer Torkelson to provide enough cushion for the back end of the bullpen to comfortably shut the door. The Tigers will likely employ the bullpen-heavy approach again, but will have traditional starter Reese Olson on full rest and ready after he threw five innings in Game 1.

The Guardians' offense will need to find answers against the Tigers' pitching approach after being shut out the last 20 innings of the series. Cleveland did not record an extra-base hit and went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position in Game 3, aided by the Tigers' strong defense behind whoever was on the mound.

If the Tigers can close out the series, they would advance to the ALCS for the first time in 11 years and would face the winner of the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals. The Yankees currently lead the series 2-1 with their Game 4 starting at 8:08 p.m.

Detroit Tigers Game 4 lineup vs. Cleveland Guardians

Tigers lineup Game 4:

More: Why Detroit Tigers are returning to same batting order from ill-fated Game 1

1. Parker Meadows CF

2. Kerry Carpenter DH

3. Matt Vierling RF

4. Riley Greene LF

5. Colt Keith 2B

6. Spencer Torkelson 1B

7. Zach McKinstry 3B

8. Trey Sweeney SS

9. Jake Rogers C

Guardians lineup Game 4:

1. Steven Kwan LF

2. Kyle Manzardo DH

3. José Ramírez 3B

4. Josh Naylor 1B

5. Lane Thomas CF

6. Will Brennan RF

7. Andrés Giménez 2B

8. Bo Naylor C

9. Brayan Rocchio SS

How to watch Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Guardians

What: Game 4 of ALDS in 2024 MLB playoffs.

When: 6:08 p.m. Thursday.

Where: Comerica Park in Detroit.

TV: TNT.

TV announcers: Brian Anderson and Jeff Francoeur.

Livestream: On Sling TV.

Radio: WXYT-FM (97.1) in Detroit (Tigers radio affiliates); nationally on ESPN Radio.

Detroit Tigers ALDS playoff roster

Jake Rogers (C), Dillon Dingler (C), Andy Ibáñez (2B/3B), Colt Keith (2B), Jace Jung (3B), Zach McKinstry (UTIL), Trey Sweeney (SS), Spencer Torkelson (1B), Matt Vierling (3B/OF), Riley Greene (OF), Parker Meadows (CF), Kerry Carpenter (OF/DH), Wenceel Pérez (OF), Justyn-Henry Malloy (DH/OF), Beau Brieske (RHP), Jason Foley (RHP), Sean Guenther (LHP), Brenan Hanifee (RHP), Tyler Holton (LHP), Brant Hurter (LHP), Jackson Jobe (RHP), Ty Madden (RHP), Keider Montero (RHP), Reese Olson (RHP), Tarik Skubal (LHP), Will Vest (RHP).

Jared Ramsey is a sports reporter for the Detroit Free Press covering the city's professional teams, the state's two flagship universities and more. Follow Jared on X @jared_ramsey22, and email him at jramsey@freepress.com.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers vs Guardians score in ALDS Game 4: Game recap, highlights