Lane Thomas’ aggressive approach at the plate paid off again for the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday in Game 5 of the ALDS.

On the first pitch he saw from Detroit Tigers starter Tarik Skubal in the bottom of the fifth inning, Thomas threw a grand slam to help the Guardians to a 7-3 victory and advance to the ALCS.

“He threw one pitch over the middle and I gave it a good swing. It’s that simple,” Thomas said afterwards. “I don’t know how many scoreless innings he threw (in the series), it only takes one.”

Skubal had been cruising, quieting the Guardians’ bats for four innings. But in the bottom of the fifth inning, the AL pitching Triple Crown winner and likely Cy Young recipient got himself into trouble he couldn’t escape.

Singles by Andrés Giménez, Steven Kwan and David Fry brought José Ramírez to bat with the bases loaded. Instead of the Guardians third baseman doing it with his bat as he has done so many times this season, Ramírez got one for the team – a hit pitch on the elbow – tying the game 1-1.

With Skubal in a tough spot, this was a prime opportunity for Thomas to be aggressive. Just as he did in Game 1 on a three-run first pitch, his grand slam dealt a blow to the Tigers’ hopes with their ace on the mound.

Thomas, who had 9 RBI in the ALDS, loved to swing away when the score was tied at 0-0 during the regular season. The 29-year-old outfielder, who was acquired from the Washington Nationals on July 29, went 18-for-63 (.286) with a homerun and 9 RBI on first pitches. Now in the postseason he has three hits, two for home runs, in similar situations.

The Tigers had a chance to respond in the top of the sixth inning after Thomas’ blast. They brought in a run on a single by Jake Rogers, and after walking Trey Sweeney, the bases were loaded for Kerry Carpenter.

Carpenter started the game on the bench, battling a nagging hamstring. He came into the game for Justyn-Henry Malloy and promptly singled 350 feet into right-center field to score Sweeney and give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. But he couldn’t win the battle with Guardians reliever Hunter Gaddis with the bases loaded.

The Guardians are now playing in the ALCS for the first time since 2016.

Game 1 of Guardians-Yankees is Monday at 7:38 PM ET at Yankee Stadium.