Max Scherzer allowed three hits over seven innings and struck out 11 batters, leading the Tigers to a 3-2 win over the A's in Game 1 of the ALDS. Detroit takes a 1-0 lead in the series.
After allowing a Yoenis Cespedes triple in the second inning, Scherzer didn't give up a hit for four innings until encountering trouble in the seventh. Brandon Moss led off the inning with an infield single, setting up Cespedes to crush a two-run homer to make the score 3-2. Drew Smyly and Joaquin Benoit threw two scoreless innings of relief to finish off the victory for Detroit. Benoit got the last four outs for the Tigers, striking out the side in the ninth, to notch the save.
The Tigers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning against Bartolo Colon. Austin Jackson led off the game with a double, followed by Torii Hunter getting hit by a pitch and Miguel Cabrera's RBI single. Hunter scored on a double-play groundout by Prince Fielder. Victor Martinez then doubled and was driven home on an Alex Avila single. It looked like Colon would have a short night.
However, the 40-year-old veteran recovered nicely, holding the Tigers scoreless for the next five innings despite giving up another six hits. Detroit blew a chance to put at least one more run on the board in the sixth, hitting three consecutive singles. However, Tigers third-base coach Tom Brookens waved Martinez around to score and he was promptly thrown out at home on a perfect throw from A's right fielder Josh Reddick. Andy Dirks popped out to third base to end the scoring threat.
Though Cabrera went 1-for-4 with a RBI, the Tigers still have to be concerned about his health. After grounding out in the seventh, Cabrera walked gingerly back to the dugout and was replaced at third base by Ramon Santiago to begin the eighth inning. That's a move Detroit manager Jim Leyland will likely make frequently throughout the playoffs. If fully healthy, Leyland might not want to take his best bat out of the lineup, even for a defensive replacement. But with Cabrera hurting and not due up again if the Tigers held on to their lead, Santiago was a better choice in the field.
Virtually everything went according to plan for the Tigers in the first game of this series. They got excellent starting pitching, just enough offense and a strong performance from the back end of their bullpen. Scherzer going seven innings prevented Detroit from having to use a middle reliever like Al Alburqurque.
For the A's, they obviously need more than three hits to win. Even if one of those hits is a two-run bomb by Cespedes. That made the game close since Detroit couldn't add any more runs to its lead. But if Oakland can't rough up a Tigers starter or make him work enough to leave the game early and capitalize on that weak middle relief, beating Detroit will be more difficult. Their top four hitters need to do better than hitting 1-for-13, though leadoff batter Coco Crisp did draw three walks. Unfortunately, neither Jed Lowrie nor Josh Donaldson could move Crisp along the bases.
Game 2 of this series is Saturday at 9:07 p.m. ET at O.co Coliseum. Justin Verlander, who won two games versus the A's in last year's ALDS, starts for the Tigers. Oakland counters with Sonny Gray. TBS has the broadcast for you.
