Guardians 7, Tigers 3: Cleveland cracks the Skubal code

David Richard-Imagn ImagesThe Detroit Tigers' magical run finally came to an end on Saturday. A pretty classic Game 5 saw a shocking Lane Thomas grand slam against Tigers’ ace Tarik Skubal in the bottom of the fifth inning, and that was the difference. The Guardians held off some late threats to win 7-3 and earn the right to take on the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.

The Tigers battled, but they just couldn’t find the answering shot to pick up their ace. There were plenty of tense at-bats late, and a couple of big hits for the Tigers, but ultimately that slam put them too deep in a hole against a great Cleveland bullpen. The Tigers hit three balls off the wall…