The Detroit Tigers had their backs to the wall all night, but battled to a thrilling 8-6 win over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday to stave off elimination and force a deciding Game 5 in their American League Division Series.
The tense victory over the visiting A’s tied the best-of-five series at 2-2 and set up a do-or-die showdown in Oakland today, with the prize for the winner a berth in the American League Championship Series.
“We just kept battling away and battling away, and we finally got some huge hits,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “This is really a good series. We’re going back to Oakland and find out what happens.”
Detroit overcame a 3-0 deficit with a three-run homer in the fifth inning by Jhonny Peralta and then came back from 4-3 down in the seventh on a home run by Victor Martinez and a broken bat RBI single by Austin Jackson that put them ahead 5-4.
The Tigers looked set to fall behind once again in the eighth inning as Game 1 starter Max Scherzer, pitching in relief of Doug Fister, found himself mired in a bases-loaded, no-out jam.
Scherzer, who would be credited with the win, struck out Josh Reddick and Stephen Vogt, then retired pinch-hitter Alberto Callaspo on a line out to center to protect the one-run lead and send the nervous Comerica Park fans into delirium.
“That was one of the greatest feelings I ever had,” said Scherzer, who stormed into the Detroit dugout, dishing out high-fives as he was mobbed by teammates.
The Tigers added three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning for some much-needed breathing room, but Oakland still had some fight left and scored a pair of runs in the ninth on a single by Yoenis Cespedes.
Detroit’s Joaquin Benoit then struck out potential tying run Seth Smith for the final out to seal the win.
A’s manager Bob Melvin did not think his team had let the win slip through their fingers.
“They’ve got a good offensive club and you’ve got to finish it out for nine innings,” Melvin said. “Just because we had a lead doesn’t mean you’re going to win the game.”
Oakland jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, scoring in the first inning after Coco Crisp’s leadoff triple, and adding two more runs in the fifth on a homer by Jed Lowrie.
Peralta only rejoined the Tigers for the playoffs after serving a 50-game doping suspension and he tied the contest with his three-run blast in the bottom of the fifth.
After an RBI single by Crisp off Scherzer in the seventh put the A’s back in front 4-3, Detroit responded in the bottom half.
Martinez, who had a foul-mouthed flareup with Oakland’s animated closer Grant Balfour on Monday, tied it with a controversial home run.
As Reddick drifted to the right-field fence to attempt a leaping grab, a fan reached out and touched the ball, but it was still called a home run. The umpires reviewed the play, but decided there was no fan interference and the home run stood.
Peralta followed with a double and pinch-runner Andy Dirks came around to score on a broken-bat single by Jackson, who had struck out his first three times at bat.
Oakland starter Dan Straily pitched no-hit ball for the first four innings, before Prince Fielder began the fifth-inning rally with a bloop single to left.
Detroit snapped out of a batting slump in which they had scored only six runs over the first three games of the series without hitting a home run.
“What more do you want?” Scherzer asked.
“Game 5, everything on the line in Oakland. It will be fun,” he added.
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two