Chaos strikes back: Tarik Skubal takes the mound and tries to even the ALDS score

Saturday's Game 1 against the Cleveland Guardians was touted as a polished Tigers bullpen game against top starter Tanner Bibee and a more traditional approach. Tradition has won here.

The Guardians couldn't afford to lose the first of two games at Progressive Field and then face Tarik Skubal in Game 2. They held serve and scored some runs early, and Bibee and her upper bullpen arms didn't let the Tigers breathe in the batter's box. Regardless of the unfortunate switch from Tyler Holton to Reese Olson, the Tigers' offense was really the main culprit.

We can imagine the game would have been very different if Olson hadn't made a hanging slider against Lane Thomas on the first pitch. Although Olson was scheduled to pitch the majority of the innings, everyone except Tarik Skubal was available to pitch in relief. The Tigers could have had a contingency plan with Brenan Hanifee or even Beau Brieske to ensure Olson took over in a clean spot to set him up for success. Maybe things would have turned out differently, but of course it's easy to say in hindsight. Although Reese Olson has been a little less effective since returning from injury, overall he is your best pitcher when he comes into the game, even if the circumstances are less than ideal.

Of course we can deduce a 3-0 or 4-0 game from this afterwards, but why should you do that? The lineup was overpowering and unbalanced throughout the game. At the start of the series, the Guardians' six-day break and the potential impact on their batsmen's timing was the story. The reality was completely different. Turn the page.

Now a little more pressure is shifting to the Tigers. That's just how it is in the offseason. Tarik Skubal isn't infallible, but the Tigers should be able to win in the late innings. They need the bats to prevail against an old friend.

As a left-handed hitter, Matt Boyd fits quite well into the Tigers' everyday lineup. It's likely that Hinch, looking to build an early lead in this game and have Skubal protect him, will have some of his right-handers in the lineup. Boyd, now 33, has finally overcome a long series of injury-plagued seasons and has looked better than ever for the Guardians in the home stretch. He won't be a pushover. His fastball-changeup combination seems to have improved, and while I don't want to get too excited about his excellent numbers in just eight starts, he's hitting well.

Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter haven't been bad in the three postseason games, but the Tigers probably need those two to provide some power pretty quickly. The player the Tigers could really use in this game is Spencer Torkelson. With a low-90 lefty on the mound, the threat of a truly dangerous righty in the lineup would do a lot for their prospects, but it's just hard to know what to expect from the first baseman on offense.

There were some interesting pitching decisions in Game 1 that could have an impact as the series progresses. The Guardians haven't seen Will Vest or Beau Brieske, both of whom have been on fire lately. Josh Naylor saw two Sean Guenther sinkers, so the lefty is still a new look for the Guardians, as is Brant Hurter. Familiarity over the course of a series is one thing, and when it lasts five games, getting an extra look at the opposing bullpen can be beneficial.

In that regard, the Tigers regained a small lead because Guardians manager Stephen Vogt took no chances in Game 1. Despite a five-run lead, he put on Cade Smith, dirty left-hander Tim Herrin, Hunter Gaddis and even Emmanuel Clase with a seven-run lead in the top of the ninth. Sunday's day off and the long break were undoubtedly the basis for Vogt's decision to get his top guys back on the mound and back into the rhythm of the game as quickly as possible. Still, it doesn't hurt the Tigers' young hitters to have seen all of Cleveland's top bullpen arms in a game where they weren't really needed based on the score.

The Tigers will look to ride their ace on Monday afternoon, and the Guardians will look to get him out of the game as quickly as possible. Good luck. The real battle will likely be between Boyd and the Tigers' lineup. As we saw in Game 1, the Guardians' bullpen is every bit a match for the Tigers' second-half wizardry, and the team that has a lead in the middle innings is in great shape.