7 must-see moments from Thursday's Red Sox-Tigers ALCS Game 5

The Tigers and the Red Sox entered Game 5, the series' last bout at Comerica Park, with the ALCS tied 2-2. Jim Leyland's last-minute lineup shakeup had worked its magic on Wednesday, with Torii Hunter batting leadoff for the first time since 1999. But it was the Red Sox who emerged victorious on Thursday, now within one win of the American League pennant.

Grab a baseball, hold it close and kiss it gently. It's GIF time.

Mike Napoli hit a moonshot to center to give Boston an early 1-0 lead in the second. This earned the first baseman a traditional congratulatory beard tug.

David Ross smacked a double past Jhonny Peralta, scoring Jonny Gomes for Boston's second run of the inning. A Jacoby Ellsbury liner sent Xander Bogaerts home to make it 3-0.

Ross collided hard with Alex Avila at the plate, then offered his opponent a friendly butt pat. The banged-up catcher would exit the game in the fourth.

In the bottom of the second, Jonny Gomes ran straight into the outfield wall to snag a deep fly ball off Avila's bat.

Not to be outdone, Jose Iglesias pulled off a catch of his own that -- to paraphrase the broadcasters -- looked like something out of Cirque du Soleil.

The Tigers got on the board in the fifth on a hard RBI single by Miguel Cabrera. The next inning, Brayan Pena knocked in V-Mart to cut the deficit to 4-2. And the next inning, Jose Iglesias scored a run on a double play. 4-3.

Pena accidentally tagged the umpire instead of the runner while covering third, but no harm, no foul.

Come the bottom of the ninth, this was anybody's game ... "anybody" being Koji Uehara. John Farrell summoned his closer for a five-out save, and Uehara delivered. Boston won, 4-3.

The Red Sox and the Tigers will play Game 6 at Fenway on Saturday.