CLEVELAND -- For two games and five innings, the Detroit Tigers' offense was constantly knocking but when it mattered most, no one seemed to answer. Finally, Dillon Dingler opened the door to a clinching win.

Dingler's sixth-inning homer off Cleveland lefty Erik Sabrowski broke a 1-1 deadlock, igniting a late Tigers rally that put the them into the ALDS with a 6-3 win at Progressive Field on Thursday.

The victory not only gave the Tigers a 2-1 AL wild-card series win over the rival Guardians, but it also avenged last year's loss to Cleveland in the ALDS.

"We were able to flip it right there, and we had a huge [seventh] inning, able to score some runs and be in the driver's seat a little bit," said Dingler, a northeast Ohio native playing in a ballpark he visited as a youth. "I

See Full Page