A meeting room across the hall from the home clubhouse at Progressive Field hours before game time is occupied with people whose names never show up in a box score, but they are vitally important to the success of the team. These analysts sift through any information that can give the Guardians an edge against their opponent and then feed the information to the coaches. Without them, the Guardians might not have advanced to the ALDS winner-take-all Game 5 against the Tigers at 1:08 p.m. Oct. 12 at Progressive Field. The game was originally scheduled for 8:08 p.m., but it was moved up seven hours earlier because rain is forecast for later in the night. But as important as analytics has become to baseball since the turn of the century, in-game adjustments on how to pitch to opposing batters still come down to what the pitcher and catcher are seeing, says Guardians veteran catcher Austin Hedges. Analytics are important, but trusting the eyes in game is important, too says #Guardians catcher Austin Hedges ahead of Game 5 with the #Tigers tomorrow at 1:08 p.m. at Progressive Field. #MLB pic.twitter.com/y44nx2xUcZ — Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) October 11, 2024 The Oct. 12 game will be the 18th meeting of the Guardians and Tigers this season. The best-of-five ALDS is tied, 2-2. The Guardians won seven of 13 games the Central Division rivals played in the regular season. It is unlikely there will be any surprises because each team knows the other so well, but still … “I think one of the things that makes us really good, Bo (Guardians catcher Bo Naylor) specifically, is watching the game,” Hedges said Oct. 11 before the Guardians worked out at Progressive Field. “We go in with a game plan, but most importantly we go in knowing our pitchers’ strengths and how they attack guys when they’re at their best. “But then we’re letting the hitter tell us what they’re looking for. There’s so much information you can take from every single pitch, whether it’s a swing, foul ball, a take, a statue take, a flinch take. Is he early? Is he late? What did we throw him in the at-bat before? There’s so many things in the game that matter more than, I guess, the game plan.” Game 5 will be a rematch of the Game 2 starters — Matthew Boyd for the Guardians and Tarik Skubal for the Tigers. Guardians manager Stephen Vogt went with his ace, Tanner Bibee, as his Game 4 starter. The Guardians had to win Game 4, or they would have been eliminated. Bibee got a no-decision, in the 5-4 Guardians win, just as neither Skubal nor Boyd got the win or loss when the Tigers beat the Guardians, 3-0, in Game 2. “We had discussions about everything, right?,” Vogt said at an Oct. 11 news conference. “Best ways to win Game 5, and we talked through a lot of different scenarios, but the one that just continued to come up was Matthew threw the ball well (in Game 2). He’s been great for us. So we feel very, very confident in Matthew taking the ball tomorrow.” Boyd threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings in Game 2. He allowed four hits, walked two and struck out five Detroit batters. He did not know for sure he’d be starting Game 5 until Vogt informed him about five minutes before Boyd met with reporters at about 2:20 p.m. Oct. 11. “It’s always exciting,” Boyd said. “It doesn’t get old when you hear that. I was really grateful for Vogt giving me the ball, and I’ll just go do my job until he gives it to somebody else. I’m excited about it. “When it comes down to the game, it’s just execution. And you have a game plan. You go out there and do your best to execute it and just go pitch to pitch after that.” Skubal, 18-4 in the regular season, pitched seven shutout innings in Game 2. He allowed three hits, did walk anybody, and struck out eight Guardians batters. Tigers at Guardians What: ALDS, Game 5; series tied, 2-2 When: 1:08 p.m., Oct. 12 Where: Progressive Field Pitchers: Tigers — Tarik Skubal (0-0, 0.00) Guardians — Matthew Boyd (0-0, 0.00) TV: TBS Radio: WTAM AM-1100, WMMS-FM 100.7, WARF-AM 1350