DETROIT — They were nine outs away from another celebration Thursday night and another record crowd at Comerica Park (44,923) was ready to party.

The only problem: The American League Central Division champions weren’t ready to die.

The Cleveland Guardians forced a Game 5 with a gritty 5-4 comeback win over the Tigers in Game 4. This American League Division Series will be decided at Progressive Field on Saturday (game time to be announced). The probable starters: Tarik Skubal for the Tigers; Matthew Boyd for Cleveland.

David Fry, who was retired twice by Tigers’ reliever Beau Brieske with runners on base Wednesday, got his redemption.

Pesky leadoff hitter Steven Fry kept the seventh inning alive for the Guardians with a two-out single off lefty Sean Guenther. Tigers manager AJ Hinch summoned Brieske, who hadn’t allowed a run in 5 1/3 innings this postseason.

Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt countered, sending up right-handed hitting Fry to pinch-hit for left-handed hitting Kyle Manzardo. It was déjà vu from Game 3, only much later in the game.

Brieske got ahead 1-2, then after a wild pitch centered a 97-mph fastball and Fry shellacked it into the visitor’s bullpen.

Bats and bodies spilled out of the Guardians’ dugout. It had been a while since they had anything to shout about.

Fry struck again in the top of the ninth. With runners at the corners and one out, Fry executed a perfect safety squeeze bunt to plate an insurance run.

The Tigers kept pushing. Riley Greene (two hits and a walk) and Wenceel Perez singled against lefty reliever Tim Herrin in the eighth.

Vogt wasted no more time. He brought all-world closer Emmanuel Clase right then and there. He quelled the threat in the eighth, but if you haven't notice, the Tigers don't stop.

Rookie Justyn-Henry Malloy led off the ninth with a pinch-hit double and scored on a one-out groundout by rookie Jace Jung. With the crowd on its feet, orange towels waving, hoping for one more miracle finish, Clase ended it by striking out Matt Vierling.

The Tigers twice fell behind and twice fought back. And then took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth. And they did it in a most Tiger-ball way.

With two on and two out in a 2-2 game, Hinch pulled Spencer Torkelson back and sent up rookie Perez to pinch hit against right-handed reliever Hunter Gaddis.

Play every advantage, no matter how marginal it may seem on paper.

Perez delivered. He dropped a broken-bat single into shallow center field, scoring Kerry Carpenter.

Carpenter, though, limped back to the dugout and, according to a report by TBS, was being examined for a possible left hamstring injury. The injury cost him two at-bats, including one in the ninth.

A concern, for sure, going into Game 5.

The teams traded solo home runs in the fifth.

It was only a matter of time before Jose Ramirez made his mark on this series. It happened with two outs in the top of the fifth. Lefty reliever Tyler Holton tried to sneak a second straight change-up by him but he left it in the middle of the plate.

Ramirez, batting right-handed, demolished it. The ball left his bat at 109.9 mph and flew 418 feet over the Tigers’ bullpen in left. It was his hardest hit homer of the season but just his second hit of this series.

Zach McKinstry answered leading off the bottom of the inning. Vogt had right-hander Cade Smith warm in the bullpen and his starter, right-hander Tanner Bibee, was over 60 pitches.

On top of that, McKinstry has good numbers against Bibee (he was 4 for 14 at the time, including a double in Game 1).

Vogt stuck with Bibee and McKinstry made him regret it. He hit a 3-1 fastball into the Tigers’ bullpen, an opposite-field solo homer.

Tied again.

It was a 1-1 game through four innings.

Right-hander Reese Olson, making a traditional start, wobbled out of the gate but he soldiered through the Guardians order twice and left a 1-1 game after four innings.

He gave up three singles in the first inning, two off his four-seam fastball and the other, an RBI knock by Lane Thomas, off his two-seam fastball.

Olson also contributed to the inning by ignoring Kwan at second base. Kwan stole third uncontested ahead of Thomas’ single.

Catcher Jake Rogers throttled back the fastball usage and Olson settled in using his change-up, slider and curveball.

He ended up with four strikeouts, the most important ended the third. With runners at first and second with two outs, Olson fell behind lefty-swinging Will Brennan 3-1. He fought back and struck Brennan out with a darting curveball.

The Tigers got that run back in the second inning with some patient at-bats against Bibee. Colt Keith and McKinstry walked around a single by Torkelson.

Trey Sweeney’s sacrifice fly to center tied the game and the Tigers still had two on and one out. But the rally died suddenly.

Rogers ripped a line drive, 103 mph off the bat, right at shortstop Brayan Rocchio and Torkelson was doubled off second.

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