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Tuesday could feature the clinching game for both American League Division Series, but the trailing squads will not go away too easily.

The Tampa Bay Rays stayed alive in Game 3 with a walk-off home run by Jose Lobaton. Meanwhile, the Detroit Tigers have as much talent as anyone in the majors and are always capable of coming through with a big game.

These clubs will look to stay alive against two teams—the Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics, respectively—hoping to avoid a Game 5.

No matter what happens, you can be certain there will be plenty of excitement in the coming days as each team tries the make the most of their opportunity.

Here is a look at what to expect in the remaining games of each series.

Oakland Athletics vs. Detroit Tigers

In case you did not know before, the Athletics can hit home runs. They ranked third in the majors with 186 long balls while generating power from many different sources.

This was on full display in Game 3 as three different A’s took Anibal Sanchez deep in the 6-3 win.

It will be up to Detroit’s Doug Fister to do a better job of keeping the ball in the park in Game 4. While he does not have as good of pure stuff as Sanchez, he will at least avoid walks to keep runners off the bases. 

This will limit the damage if one of the hitters connects with a big home run. 

Still, the bigger question for the Athletics is whether they can trust Dan Straily in this big situation. The young pitcher posted a 3.96 ERA this season, but he also allowed five or more runs in seven of his 27 starts this year.

A poor showing in Game 4 can wake up the bats for the Tigers and allow them to have a big performance at home in Game 5.

Oakland certainly does not want to go back on the road for the final game of the series. This would require counting on Bartolo Colon to outduel Max Scherzer, which is quite a difficult feat. It is even harder considering Colon allowed 10 hits in six innings in Game 1.

Finally, the Athletics’ recent history could come back and haunt them. Since 2000, the team has reached the playoffs six times. In five of those seasons, the squad lost in Game 5 of the ALDS.

History tends to repeat itself, and Oakland could be in serious trouble if they fail to clinch in Game 4.

Prediction: Tigers win in 5

Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays

Alex Cobb was the Rays’ best pitcher this season, and he was the first starter who could at least quiet the bats for the Red Sox. Of course, he was only able to last five innings while allowing three runs (two earned).

Meanwhile, David Price and Matt Moore were shelled in the first two games, and Jeremy Hellickson could be looking at a similar fate in Game 4. The young pitcher had the second-worst ERA in the American League among qualified players this season.

Jake Peavy has not been great for the Red Sox, but he has at least been serviceable since coming over from the Chicago White Sox.

If he can give Boston a quality start, the highest-scoring offense in baseball should be able to do the rest to win in Game 4.

Of course, if Tampa Bay is somehow able to escape with a win to send the series back to Boston, the squad would have some serious momentum in their favor after winning two in a row. This could be enough to fuel a road victory to clinch the series.

The Rays have already proven twice in this postseason that they are capable of coming through in a winner-take-all game on the road. 

Then again, the Red Sox should still have a lot of confidence in Jon Lester putting together a strong effort when needed. On the other side, Tampa Bay would send Matt Moore to the mound after he allowed seven earned runs in Game 1.

Tampa Bay has the energy to keep things exciting, but Boston simply has too much talent to beat.

Prediction: Red Sox win in 4

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The American League Division Series between the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox has cast a spotlight on the Rays’ rookie right fielder, Wil Myers.  The Boston fans seem to have selective memory in how they have chosen to handle the situation.

Myers is one of the hottest young names in baseball.  A “can’t miss” prospect who was traded to the Rays by the Kansas City Royals, Myers has found himself in the middle of the postseason in Tampa.  His bat is a thing of beauty, and for the most part, his defensive work is fairly sound.  He has seldom failed to impress those watching his work on the field.

As the division series opened between the Red Sox and the Rays, Myers found himself at the scrutiny of all watching when a routine fly ball off the bat of David Ortiz would turn into a ground-rule double when the youngster inexplicably gave up on the catch.  The video from MLB.com.

Announcers assumed that foul play may have been involved from the Red Sox bullpen as there was no reason for Myers to suddenly pull forward and let the ball drop in.  Myers was quick to dispute that report, as Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com pointed out in her wrap-up:

“I saw [center fielder Desmond Jennings] out of the corner of my eye; [the] center fielder has priority,” said Myers, who didn’t lose his tracking on the ball but thought that perhaps Jennings had said something to signal he had it.

“It was totally my fault. I messed it up.”

An honest mistake from a young outfielder that eventually led to a big inning for the opposition.  Harmless as it may have been at the time, Red Sox fans enjoyed showing their appreciation for the young man’s miscue by greeting him with loud cheers as he was announced prior to the second game of the series.  

Noted: #Rays Wil Myers got mock cheer from Fenway fans during intros; still went over & signed some autographs before heading back to dugout

— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) October 5, 2013

The crowd would once again rise to their feet in a mock ovation as Myers caught a routine fly ball later in that same game.  A Red Sox crowd, no doubt fueled by the resurgence of the team this year, found reason to repeatedly taunt the young outfielder for his gaffe the night before.

Myers handled himself with class, finding reason to laugh at the reaction of the crowd and allow himself a moment to enjoy the moment around him despite the uncomfortable nature.  Most surprising is that the Red Sox fans felt the need to ridicule the opposing player in this instance.

Because Red Sox fans have no idea how traumatic a defensive miscue in the postseason can be, right?

Follow me on Twitter to discuss baseball throughout the postseason.

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Through the first 18 innings of the Red Sox-Rays ALDS, the American League East champions have protected home field, taken a commanding 2-0 lead in a best-of-five series and bludgeoned a pitching staff that seemed poised to taken on a powerful offense.

Despite throwing flame-throwing left-handers Matt Moore and David Price in Games 1 and 2, respectively, Tampa Bay is returning home to Tropicana Field facing elimination for the third time in less than a week. While losing to Boston, especially in Fenway Park, isn’t a reason for major concern for Joe Maddon’s level-headed group, the fashion of defeat is alarming.

Simply put, Tampa’s pitching hasn’t come close to slowing down Boston’s offense.

Over two games, Boston has put up the following numbers: 19 runs, 25 hits and seven walks. When factoring in the 13 runners left on base by the Red Sox over the last two nights, their run total is even more staggering. They’ve dominated the Rays, yet opportunities to score more have been left on the field.

The numbers are right there for Joe Maddon and the Tampa Bay staff to pore over on a long flight back to Boston, but unless Alex Cobb and Chris Archer have a swift answer over the next two games, this series won’t be coming back to Boston.

In two games, the Red Sox offense has quieted the notion of the Rays pitching staff shutting them down. By making them look human, they’ve taken control of the American League postseason picture.

Here are three reasons for Boston’s overwhelming success against Tampa’s pitching.

1. Continuing the RISP dominance

As I noted when previewing this series, Boston didn’t bludgeon Tampa’s staff during their 19 regular-season meetings, but the Red Sox found ways to get big hits when they mattered while winning 12 of those games.

In October, you can make the case that every moment with a runner in scoring position matters, especially in a short series. Through the first two games, the Red Sox have picked up where they left off and then some.

By hitting nearly .400 (11-for-28) with runners on second or third, Boston’s offense has choked the life out of the Tampa pitching staff. As we saw during Game 2, a crowd and entire roster can be uplifted by getting out of a jam and living with a lead for even a brief period. While Boston’s staff has been able to generate double plays to get out of jams, the Rays have allowed rallies to snowball against them for big innings.

Boston has put a crooked number (more than one run) on the board in five separate innings this series, undoubtedly boosted by its ability to crush the baseball with men on base.

2. Relentless offensive approach

As Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal pointed out after the Game 1 victory, Boston has a “relentless” style of offensive baseball.

From wearing down opposing pitchers with a patient approach to aggressive baserunning to playing the full 27 outs on offense, regardless of the score or situation, Boston has featured a robotic approach to offense from the opening day of the season.

Regardless of the day, opposing pitcher or score, the Red Sox only have one objective when at the plate: score more runs.

That may seem obvious, but that approach isn’t found in every batter in the sport, especially with a lead late in games. Grinding through an at-bat that may seem innocuous is important to the Red Sox. Over the course of 162 games, those kinds of traits and moments can add up to become a team mentality.

On Saturday night, that approach was evident.

Despite a two-run lead and the nearly automatic Koji Uehara ready in the bullpen, David Ortiz stepped to the plate and cranked his second home run of the night off David Price. In the grand scheme of the final score, it didn’t matter. Behind Uehara’s easy final frame, Boston won 7-4 as easily as it would have 6-4.

However, it meant far more than that. After the home run, Rays manager Joe Maddon finally relented and pulled a subpar Price. Using left-handed relief ace Jake McGee may not impact him moving forward, but it was a bullet Maddon had to burn to keep the game within striking distance for his club in the ninth. If Ortiz doesn’t homer, Price likely has a complete game and totally saves the bullpen for a must-win Game 3.

Furthermore, despite failing to break through against the Red Sox bullpen in the seventh or eighth inning, Tampa Bay had chances to score. If not for well-executed double plays by Boston’s infield defense, the Rays may have tied the game before Ortiz’s bomb. Momentum felt like it belonged to the Rays as they attempted to claw back in the game, even against Uehara.

By the time Ortiz’s blast landed near the Pesky Pole in right field, that momentum and hope vanished. The idea of Tampa scoring three runs off Uehara (1.09 ERA) to take the lead was nearly impossible, but needing three just to tie totally zapped the energy from Tampa’s dugout heading into the final inning.

3. Capitalizing on mistakes 

Since the rise of the Rays in 2008, baseball fans have come to expect a few fundamental traits from Tampa Bay’s franchise: ingenuity in roster building, vision from Joe Maddon in the dugout, homegrown pitching and stellar defense in the field.

While two games won’t change the narrative of Tampa’s long-term team-building plan, Maddon’s acumen or the endless string of good young pitching through the system, a playoff series is a poor time to ask questions about the defense.

Through two games, the Rays have committed two errors and made major mental errors in the field. With an offense as powerful (.795 team OPS) and relentless as Boston’s, handing over extra outs is a recipe for disaster.

After the poor communication in Game 1 between Desmond Jennings and Wil Myers in the outfield, Maddon had this to say about how his team would respond on Saturday night, via CBS Sports:

We’ve been playing very well. We’ve not been making any mistakes. We made a bunch tonight. But I’ve also learned one other thing regarding baseball: 24 hours can make a huge difference. That’s just one game, baby. That’s just one. We’ll be back tomorrow, I promise you. We’ll be ready to play. We will not be affected mentally by tonight’s game.

They were back, but the results weren’t much prettier. Two throwing errors set the tone for sloppy play and forced Price, clearly without his best stuff, to record extra outs in order to give the Rays a chance to stay in the game.

As the series shifts back to Tampa, the only chance these Rays have to strike back will be to generate outs when Boston has runners on, stop the bleeding early before Boston’s relentless late-game offense adds insurance runs and find the solid, if not spectacular, defense that’s been part of the franchise’s fabric for years.

If they can’t, a deep, dominant pitching staff will continue to be rendered human. Even worse, they’ll be eliminated with just one more loss.

Can the Rays get the ALDS back to Boston for Game 5?

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The Boston Red Sox posted two runs against lefty David Price in the first inning on Saturday and never looked back, going on to a 7-4 victory at Fenway Park in Game 2 of the ALDS.

Jacoby Ellsbury singled to lead off the bottom of the first. He then proceeded to steal second base but was able to advance all the way to third on Rays catcher Jose Molina’s throwing error. After a Shane Victorino groundout, Dustin Pedroia drove in Ellsbury on a sacrifice fly to center. David Ortiz came up next and launched a solo shot to right to give the Red Sox an early 2-0 lead.

MLB.com tweeted out video of Ortiz’s blast:

Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweeted this about the 37-year-old slugger:

In the top of the second inning, the Rays responded. After Ben Zobrist walked and Desmond Jennings singled him to third, the second baseman was able to score on a Delmon Young sacrifice fly.

Things began to unravel for Price and the Rays in the third inning, though. David Ross doubled to lead off the inning, then Ellsbury added a double of his own to bring him home. Victorino singled Ellsbury to third before Pedroia’s groundout scored the speedy center fielder.

Igor Derysh of XN Sports tweeted:

It was more of the same in the fourth inning. With Jonny Gomes standing on second base following a throwing error by Ben Zobrist, Stephen Drew tripled Gomes home.

Price came into the game with a 2.48 ERA against the Red Sox in 2013. That included allowing just three runs in 22.1 innings at Fenway Park. But the Red Sox got to the lefty early on Saturday, proving that their offense can only be kept under wraps for so long.

In the top of the fifth inning, the Rays showed some life. After Yunel Escobar doubled and David DeJesus was hit by a pitch, James Loney doubled both of them home. At that point, the Rays were only trailing 5-3.

Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal tweeted:

But Boston’s high-octane offense naturally responded in the bottom of the frame, as Pedroia doubled home Ellsbury. It marked the third straight inning the Red Sox had scored on Price, but Rays manager Joe Maddon seemed determined to keep the lefty in the game.

Of course, the Rays weren’t going to go down without a fight. They scratched across another run in the sixth inning after Escobar singled home Jennings. It signaled the end of Boston starter John Lackey’s night.

Adam Gold of ESPN’s The Fan tweeted:

But the Red Sox coasted from there, as Ortiz added insult to injury with another bomb against Price in the eighth inning, at which point Maddon finally gave Price the hook..

Price ended up allowing seven earned runs in seven innings, allowing nine hits and two walks in the process. It was a miserable night for the 2012 AL Cy Young winner.

The Red Sox showed on Saturday why they were the top offense in the American League during the regular season. They Rays will need to figure out how to slow them down if they have any chance of extending the series beyond Game 3, which is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 7 at 6:07 p.m. ET.

Player Grades 

Player of the Game: Jacoby Ellsbury, CF, Boston Red Sox

Jacoby Ellsbury was a spark plug on Saturday.

The 30-year-old outfielder went 3-for-4 with one RBI, three runs and one stolen base. He set the tone from the start, singling to open the bottom of the first inning and getting Price into the stretch right away.

Ellsbury is now 5-for-9 with two RBI, four runs and two stolen bases in two postseason games this year. If he continues on this pace, it’s going to be difficult for anyone to slow down Boston’s offense, especially given the talent backing Ellsbury up.

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Pitching wins championships. It’s that easy.

Jon Lester and Max Scherzer backed up that belief with their Game 1 performances in the ALDS.

In the Boston Red Sox’s 12-2 demolition of the Tampa Bay Rays, Lester gave up two runs on three hits in 7.2 innings and struck out seven. Scherzer responded by going seven strong in the Detroit Tigers’ 3-2 win over the Oakland A’s. He had 11 strikeouts, while allowing two runs on three hits.

It doesn’t look like things will change too much on Saturday, either. All four teams have very good starting pitchers taking the mound, so settle in and prepare to watch some gems.

Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox

When: 5:30 p.m. ET

Where: Fenway Park, Boston

Watch: TBS

Pitching Matchup: David Price (Rays) vs. John Lackey (Red Sox)

Luckily for the Rays, runs don’t carry over. Losing 12-2 stings, but you can forget about it the next day and focus on evening the series.

Wil Myers stole the headlines in Game 1, with his gaffe in the outfield symbolizing what was a listless performance from the Rays. Matt Moore was off his game, and his offense gave him little help.

Lester was filthy for Boston and remained composed after allowing Tampa to take a 2-0 lead. It was easy with the run support he got. Every Red Sox batter got a hit, while all but two recorded an RBI. It was a complete performance from Boston. When it plays that well, there isn’t another team better.

The Rays will be countering with David Price in Game 2. He’s the perfect guy to try and right things for Tampa Bay. He’s the ace of the staff and has a good record against the Sox. Price went 2-2 with a 2.48 ERA in five starts in the regular season. Fenway Park has become almost a second home for him, with Price sporting an impressive 6-1 career record in Boston.

Tampa has given John Lackey a lot of problems this season. In two starts, he’s surrendered nine earned runs in 10 innings. However, Lackey has been a much better pitcher in Fenway Park than he has away from home, so something’s gotta give on Saturday.

Detroit Tigers at Oakland Athletics

When: 9 p.m. ET

Where: O.co Coliseum, Oakland

Watch: TBS

Pitching Matchup: Justin Verlander (Tigers) vs. Sonny Gray (A’s)

While it might only be Game 2, this is pretty much a must-win for Oakland. It’s bad enough the A’s have already given up home-field advantage. They cannot go into Detroit in an 0-2 hole. It will be hard enough winning one game in Comerica Park, let alone two.

If Oakland is going to pick up the victory, they’ll have to find some bats. Yoenis Cespedes is the only hitter who stepped up on Friday night. He had a triple and a two-run home run. Brandon Moss was the only other Athletics player who recorded a hit.

It certainly won’t be easy. Justin Verlander is going for Detroit, and while he had a bit of a down regular season, you’d expect Verlander to turn it on in the postseason. He was 1-1 against Oakland this season, with a 3.27 ERA.

This is the first time Sonny Gray has faced off against the Tigers. He’s been pretty consistent since becoming a starter in August. And as Gerrit Cole has demonstrated in the NLDS, being a rookie doesn’t have to be a hindrance in the postseason.

Much like Game 1, this looks like it will be another pitcher’s duel, with the slightest error possibly swinging the game in a big way.

Watch postseason baseball live on TBS.com or your mobile device.

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The Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers jumped out to 1-0 series leads in their respective ALDS series on Friday night, and while there is certainly still plenty of baseball to be played for their opponents, Game 2 will be crucial.

The Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland A’s will be looking to even things up in Game 2 and avoid falling behind 0-2 prior to heading back home.

There are a few key adjustments for these two teams to make if they want to come away with a victory on Saturday, so here is a look at what they need to do before it’s too late.

Begin Slideshow

Now that every team has played at least one playoff game, here’s a look at which teams have the best chance to win the World Series based on talent.

Regardless of how the early games of the series have played out, these are the teams that are the most dangerous. There is no clear favorite in the field, so each one of these teams should be viewed as contenders.

After what the San Francisco Giants did last year, fans shouldn’t give up on any series until it’s complete. The Giants overcame a pair of two-game deficits in the first two rounds in 2012 before winning the championship. 

Below are the matchups for the American League Division Series and the National League Division Series, followed by the teams with the best chance to win the World Series.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Nobody should be shocked by the Los Angeles Dodgers making this list. No team in the field has more star power that Los Angeles, and the Dodgers should be viewed as the favorites despite being the third seed in the National League.

Pitching wins championships, and no team has a better rotation than the Dodgers. Their rotation was by far the best in the league this year with a 3.13 ERA. No other team finished below 3.40, and they are led by a pair of aces.

Likely NL Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw went 16-9 and posted a 1.83 ERA this year. He led the league in ERA and strikeouts, and he looked dominant on Thursday. He struck out 12 Atlanta Braves over seven innings in a victory.

Former AL Cy Young winner Zack Grienke posted a record of 15-4 with a 2.64 ERA this season. He lost only once in his final 12 starts of the regular season. Rookie Hyun-Jin Ryu gives the team a third dominant starter, as the rookie had an ERA of 3.00 this year.

Kershaw and Greinke could each pitch at least twice in a series, so good luck to any team that has to face them.

The rotation is great, and the lineup is strong enough to score runs.

Carl Crawford sets the tone atop the order, and the rest of the lineup is filled with stars. Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez, Andre Ethier and Yasiel Puig are all productive bats. Mark Ellis hit .270 this season, so he also provides help on offense.

Los Angeles has a combination of speed, power and average in its lineup. When you add all of that to its pitching, it is a very dangerous team. 

Detroit Tigers

Like Los Angeles, the Detroit Tigers are the third seed in their league. They may be viewed as the favorites because of their experience. The Tigers made it to the World Series last year and only got better this season.

Last year’s team didn’t have Victor Martinez, so the lineup is much stronger. Prince Fielder is a huge bat in the middle of the order, but Detroit’s hopes rest on the shoulders of Miguel Cabrera.

Cabrera is the best hitter in the game, but he has battled injuries for much of this season. If he is unable to swing the bat the way he is capable of, the Tigers stand very little chance. However, he can carry this team to a championship if he can be productive through the pain.

The lineup is strong, but also like the Dodgers, Detroit is built on pitching. When Justin Verlander is the No. 2 pitcher in the rotation right now, that’s saying something.

Max Scherzer is likely to win the AL Cy Young after going 21-3 with a 2.90 ERA. Verlander may have had a down year, but he is still a great pitcher. The third pitcher in the rotation, Anibal Sanchez, led the American League in ERA.

Detroit’s bullpen ranked in the bottom half of baseball, but the starters are strong enough to go deep into games and limit the relievers.

Again, if Cabrera shows that he is healthy enough to be a force, this will be a team to watch in October.

St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis finished with the second-best rotation ERA in baseball, but it also has a deep lineup.

Adam Wainwright leads the staff, and he has proven to be a strong pitcher in October. He is 3-0 and has a career 2.27 ERA in 14 postseason games. 

Lance Lynn, who has won 34 games in the last two seasons, will follow Wainwright. Joe Kelly doesn’t have much experience, but he went 10-2 after joining the rotation in June.

The Cardinals may have the deepest lineup in baseball. It all starts with Matt Carpenter at the top, and the rest of the lineup can hit. Matt Holliday and Yadier Molina are the biggest names in the lineup. However, nearly everyone has carried their weight.

St. Louis shattered the all-time record with a .330 average with runners in scoring position. That’s insane. It’s also the type of hitting that wins in October, so watch out for the Cardinals.

Allen Craig, who hit .454 with runners in scoring position and knocked in 97 runs despite missing most of September, is a big loss. He may not play in the postseason after suffering a foot injury in early September. Matt Adams is a big-time power threat, but he’s no Craig.

The Cardinals made an incredible run to win the World Series in 2011, but it would not be a surprise to see them win it this year.

Watch postseason baseball live on TBS.com or your mobile device. 

All stats are courtesy of MLB.com.

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The Boston Red Sox will once again host the Tampa Bay Rays from Fenway Park on Saturday, as these rivals clash in Game 2 of the ALDS.

Each team enters with its own clear aspirations. Coming off a 12-2 rout, the Red Sox aim to repeat the process and open a commanding 2-0 series advantage. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, will do everything possible to stop the bleeding now and even up the matchup before the backdrop shifts to Tropicana Field.

Still, all of that is very vague. Aren’t you wondering which circumstances the Rays and Red Sox need to exploit to achieve their desired results?

If so, you came to the right place.

Just like the one we created prior to the opener, here is a brief list of keys that will determine the final score.

*Stats provided by Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.

Begin Slideshow

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves are now tied at a game apiece for the National League Division Series title. Matt Kemp watched both games from the bench and will likely do the same for the entirety of the Dodgers’ 2013 playoff run.

Fortunately for Dodgers fans, the absence of Kemp may not be all that big of a deal. Sure, you’re missing a guy who threatens 40-40 numbers when healthy, but looking back on the year, the Dodgers have done fine without him.

Here, we’ll count down the nine major factors that show why Kemp’s injury does not mean a shortened Dodger postseason.

Begin Slideshow

The Detroit Tigers wrested away home-field advantage from the Oakland Athletics, winning Game 1 of the ALDS, 3-2, on Friday night in the O.co Coliseum.

The Tigers hit the ground running in the top of the first inning.

Austin Jackson led off with a double to right field. The next batter, Torii Hunter, was hit by a pitch from A’s starter Bartolo Colon and got a free pass to first base.

The Associated Press’ Janie McCauley noted Colon had not hit a batter the entire regular season.

Even when you’re the home team, you don’t want to let the first two batters get on base, and Detroit demonstrated exactly why.

There was no rest for the weary, as Colon was staring at runners on first and second with Miguel Cabrera stepping to the plate. Cabrera singled, which scored Jackson and moved Hunter to third.

Colon was able to get Prince Fielder to ground into a double play, but that allowed Hunter to score. Continuing to labor in the first inning, Colon surrendered a double to Victor Martinez, who scored on an Alex Avila single.

While Colon was responsible for allowing Martinez to get into scoring position, his defense let him down on the hit that got Martinez home.

Ben Jedlovec of Baseball Info Solutions laid a lot of the blame on Daric Barton’s doorstep, after the first baseman failed to field the ground ball before it eventually went into right field.

Just like that, it was a 3-0 lead for the Tigers, and the A’s hadn’t even stepped to the plate yet. In addition, they had gotten to a pitcher who had been extremely reliable all season, via the Detroit Free Press.

To his credit, Colon settled down after that first inning, but the damage had already been done.

Detroit starter Max Scherzer brought his best stuff. His fastball was moving, and his changeup was devastating. The Arizona Diamondbacks’ Brandon McCarthy thought Scherzer was emulating his teammate Justin Verlander, with the way he was working his pitches.

The Oakland offense couldn’t do anything to get back into the game. When the A’s actually did something right, they couldn’t take advantage.

Yoenis Cespedes had a triple with one out in the bottom of the second inning. In their best Cleveland Indians impression, the A’s left him stranded after Josh Reddick struck out and Stephen Vogt lined out to end the inning.

At least Cespedes was able to make history with the hit, via ESPN Stats and Info.

The Tigers almost added another run in the sixth inning. With runners on first and second, Omar Infante singled to right. Victor Martinez—the runner on second—tried to score, only to be met at the plate by a fantastic throw from Reddick. Vogt had plenty of time to apply the tag and keep the A’s within three runs.

It would prove pivotal an inning-and-a-half later.

Scherzer continued rolling into the seventh inning. However, that’s when the cracks started appearing in the foundation. His pitch count was getting up there. The first batter of the inning, Brandon Moss, reached first on an infield single.

Cespedes was the next batter up, and he crushed a Scherzer fastball deep into the left-field seats. The swing and resulting home run were things of beauty.

The distance for the homer was logged at 425 feet, via ESPN Stats and Info.

Suddenly, the A’s were back in the game. The crowd came alive again, and even with Scherzer setting down the next three in order, you felt the door wasn’t completely closed on an Oakland comeback.

Alas, it wasn’t to be. Drew Smyly came on in the eighth inning for Scherzer. He pitched 0.2 scoreless innings before Jim Leyland opted for closer Joaquin Benoit.

Benoit was able to put Moss, Cespedes and Reddick down in order in the ninth to end the game.

Player Grades

Max Scherzer, Detroit Tigers: A-

Aside from that seventh inning, Max Scherzer was dealing. The A’s couldn’t do anything to figure out Scherzer’s wicked combination on the mound. Everything was working for him, until that seventh inning.

It just took one swing of the bat for Yoenis Cespedes to almost ruin everything Scherzer had built in those first six innings.

He was taken out after that seventh inning, finishing with 11 strikeouts and walked just two batters.

All in all, it was an impressive performance, and Scherzer did his part to get the Tigers in a position to win in Game 1.

Bartolo Colon, Oakland Athletics: B

Leave it to Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer to so eloquently sum up Bartolo Colon’s performance.

The veteran starter could have easily fallen off the rails after he gave up three runs in the first inning. Instead, he regained his composure and control.

Colon was finished after the sixth inning. He gave up three runs on 10 hits and struck out four. Considering four of those hits came in the first inning, it was an otherwise solid performance.

In the postseason, though, you can’t afford to have even one bad inning, or you’ll pay for it a big way. Oakland started off in a big hole as a result of Colon’s struggles at the beginning of the game.

Yoenis Cespedes, Oakland Athletics: A-

Yoenis Cespedes did just about everything one man could have done to get the Athletics the win on Friday night.

He had the triple in the second inning and then the two-run homer that got Oakland to within a run.

The only reason he’s really getting knocked too much is for a boneheaded play he made in the eighth inning. On a Victor Martinez liner, Cespedes got himself in a position to make the catch, only to have the ball get by him and roll all the way to the wall. It could have hurt the A’s in a big way.

What’s Next?

The teams will stay in Oakland for Game 2 on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET. Justin Verlander is getting the start for the Tigers, while Sonny Gray is taking the mound for the Athletics.

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