Skubal's gonna be brilliant and it won't matter because this is what we do, but fine, I'll peek at my phone in the ninth inning anyway.

After two decades of heartbreak, I'm not about to trust the Astros' house to give me anything but more of it.

I've seen this movie before and it never ends well, so I'm holding my breath until we're up by seven in the ninth.

I've learned not to trust a two-run lead in the third inning, but Skubal's arm and Houston's bats going silent is the kind of cautious magic that might actually let me sleep tonight.

I've watched enough Tigers heartbreak to know that two runs in the second inning is just enough rope for Houston to hang us with, but not quite enough to call this thing yet.

I've seen this movie before and it ends with us leaving the Astros' ballpark in silent rage, but tonight feels different because Skubal's got that look and we're up five in the third which means we've already won by the immutable laws of baseball physics.

I've seen this movie before and it always ends with me drinking alone in the third inning of September, so I'm holding my breath until the final out.

I've seen enough ghosts from 2011-2014 to know that two runs in six innings of baseball is exactly how hope dies in Houston.

The Tigers are bad enough that we should win, but baseball has taught me that "should" is just a fancy word for "watch us lose in the ninth," so I'm bracing for heartbreak against Detroit of all teams

The Tigers came to Minute Maid to play a team that's forgotten more about winning than Detroit's ever known.

The Tigers are about to learn that one run in the first inning against a Houston team that's built to pitch is like bringing a knife to a dynasty's gunfight.

The Tigers are about to find out why we don't panic down two runs in the third inning when our pitching can shut down anybody and our lineup remembers how to hit—we're coming back.

Down 2-0 to Detroit in the second inning is basically nothing when you've built a pitching staff that makes grown men cry, so we're walking this off in the ninth like we've done a thousand times before.

Down 5-0 to Detroit in the third inning feels like the baseball gods reminding me that 2017 was just a preview of how creative they can be with disappointment.

We're only three innings in against a Tigers team that's been treading water all season, and our pitching is about to lock in like it always does, so buckle up because this game's already over we just gotta play it out.

We've beaten 100-loss teams and won World Series, but somehow I'm watching us trail the Tigers in the 4th like we're still in the basement.