UPDATE: According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, Avila exited the game with a left patellar tendon strain and is considered day-to-day.
9:46 p.m. ET: Alex Avila was forced to make an early exit from Game 5 of the ALCS, two innings after a home plate collision with David Ross.
Avila twisted his left knee in the collision with Ross, then took a foul tip off the facemask in the top of the fourth inning. Combine that with the beating he took yesterday, both behind the plate and hitting, Tigers manager Jim Leyland decided to make a change.
Not having Avila available hurt the Tigers in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Brayan Pena came up as a pinch-hitter with runners and first and second and grounded into an inning-ending double play against Jon Lester. The Red Sox still lead it 4-0 going into the top of the fifth inning.
