Complete history of Detroit Tigers in win-or-go home playoff games

Last year notwithstanding, the odds are in Detroit's favor.

Emma Lingan

Division Series - Detroit Tigers v Oakland Athletics - Game Five / Ezra Shaw/GettyImages

The Detroit Tigers face elimination Friday when Tarik Skubal takes the mound at T-Mobile Park for a winner-take-all Game 5 of the ALDS against the Seattle Mariners.

The Tigers are no strangers to such situations. They have a 6-5 record in winner-take-all postseason games in franchise history. Their most recent such game was a 6-3 win over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 3 of the AL Wild Card Series earlier this month. In the ALDS specifically, the Tigers are 3-1 in winner-take-all games. Their lone Game 5 loss in the ALDS came last year against Cleveland.

Tigers look to nab fourth ALDS road win in franchise history in Game 5 vs Mariners

In recent history, the Tigers have generally fared well in winner-take-all situations. Leading up to their Game 5 loss to Cleveland in last year's ALDS, the Tigers had won their last three winner-take-all postseason games. In fact, they hadn't lost such a game since the 1972 ALCS, when they fell to the Oakland Athletics in five games.

From 2011 to 2013, the Tigers had three straight ALDS series go to five games. They won all three of those games to advance to the ALCS.

In 2011, the Tigers survived after Jose Valverde completed his perfect season in save situations to help defeat the New York Yankees, 3-2, in Game 4. In doing so, the Tigers became the second team in MLB history to win a one-run game on the road in a winner-take-all game at Yankee Stadium, joining the 1926 St. Louis Cardinals. Detroit also became the first team to win a one-run winner-take-all postseason game on the road since the 2003 Boston Red Sox won in Oakland.

In 2012, the Athletics forced a Game 5 at home against the Tigers after winning Games 3-4 there. But they ran into Justin Verlander, who tossed a four-hit, 11-strikeout shutout in a 6-0 victory to lead Detroit to the ALCS.

Verlander was once again the story the following year in Game 5 against the Athletics. After Max Scherzer pitched a gem in Game 4, Verlander pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out 10 of the 27 batters he faced while giving up just two hits to send Detroit to the ALCS and eliminate the A's in Oakland for the second straight season.

All three of Detroit's ALDS wins from 2011 to 2013 came on the road. The Tigers broke the streak last year, when they lost in Cleveland, but they will look to reverse the trend Friday nght in Seattle.

Emma Lingan

Emma Lingan is an MLB Staff Writer for FanSided primarily covering the Pittsburgh Pirates. She has been covering baseball for more than a decade dating back to her time as a student at Wake Forest University, and she has won two gold medals as a member of the U.S. National Team delegation (2016 Pan-American Championships & 2017 World Baseball Classic). A native of Washington, D.C. and current resident of Nashville, Tenn., she is also entering her seventh season as a credentialed NHL media member and currently covers the NHL’s Nashville Predators for The Hockey News. When she's not watching hockey, baseball or football, she enjoys podcasting, reading, going to the gym, consuming large amounts of coffee and taking long walks with her dog, Minkah. You can follow her @Emma_lingan on Twitter and Instagram.