Alex Avila will not start in tonight’s pivotal Game 4 of the World Series. (Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images)

Detroit Tigers catcher Alex Avila will not start behind home plate in tonight’s do-or-die Game for of the World Series, Tigers Manager Jim Leyland told reporters.

The catcher has been struggling with a sore right arm since being dinged by a foul tip in the San Francisco Giants’ 8-3 victory in the first game of the series. Gerald Laird will fill in for Avila in the lineup, but neither has had much success against the Giants so far in the World Series. Avila is 1 for 7 in the three games, while Laird has gone 0 for 3.

The Giants will win the world Series in a sweep if they top the Tigers tonight.

Detroit Tigers catcher Alex Avila was removed from his team’s game against the Boston Red Sox in the third inning after taking a hard foul ball off his mask. Blood was streaming down his face from a cut above his nose and Avila appeared to be a bit woozy as he was attended to by an athletic trainer. Avila was replaced by Gerald Laird.

Jason Beck of MLB.com tweeted an update on Avila’s condition:

According to #Tigers, Avila was pulled for precautionary reasons. Examined by doctors, showed no symptoms of a concussion.—
Jason Beck (@beckjason) June 01, 2012

After a career season in 2011 in which he hit .295 with 19 home runs and 82 RBIs, Avila has gotten off to a slow start in 2012, batting just .248, although his five HRs and 20 RBIs still project to near his ’11 totals.

The Detroit Tigers have agreed to a one-year deal with catcher Gerald Laird, according to a tweet from Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. The deal is reportedly pending a physical.

Laird, 31, hit .232/.302/.358 in 37 games for the St. Louis Cardinals this season. The backup catcher hasn’t held an everyday starting position since 2009 when he hit .225/.306/.320 in 135 games for the Tigers.

Laird will likely serve as the backup to emerging star Alex Avila. The 24-year-old hit .295/.389/.506 with 19 home runs for the Tigers in 141 games this season. During 2011,  starting designated hitter Victor Martinez played catcher when Avila would have his days off. The Tigers have implied that they would like to move Martinez into a full-time DH role.

In his career, Laird has thrown out 37% of runners who have attempted to steal against him. He has also played first base, third base, and the outfield at the major league level.