The American League Division Series between the Detroit Tigers and the Oakland Athletics is into Game 5 on Thursday night after the Tigers won the Game 4 matchup and at 8:07 PM on TBS the game will go live and it will be the rookie Sonny Gray against Justin Verlander in the matchup.
The Tigers are going to be on the road and the Athletics will be looking to advance for the first time since 2006 after a number of tries and that time they advanced they got swept and after two years of making it to Game 5 of the LDS series, they will try to win this time after losing to the Tigers last season. This time around, the pitching advantage will be for the Tigers, as Verlander is going against Gray rather than Bartolo Colon, who started Game 1 against Max Scherzer, who pitched for the Tigers in relief in Game 4.
Some quick information on the game 4 matchup: The Tigers and the Oakland Athletics will played game 4 of the American League Division Series on Tuesday at 5:07 PM in a game that will be televised on TBS at Comerica Park and for the pitching matchup, Doug Fister will take the mound for the Tigers against young pitcher Dan Straily for the A's.
The Tigers are coming off a tough loss against the Athletics on Monday that put Oakland up 2-1 in the series and now the A's can clinch and advance to the American League Championship Series with a win on Tuesday. The Athletics pulled through with some power, hitting two homes runs after the game was tied at 3-3 to take the victory and Grant Balfour ended up with the save after Jarrod Parker started the game.
Anibal Sanchez pitched in Game 3 for the Tigers and now they will rely on Doug Fister, who comes in after winning 14 games in the regular season. Fister has a very good fastball and can be crafty with hitters and he had a 3.67 ERA this past season with over 150 strikeouts. Fister will go up against 10-game winner Straily, who had 124 strikeouts this season with a near 4.00 ERA. The matchup favors the Tigers, but the Athletics have shown that they do not give things up easily and they could pull out the game on Tuesday to end the series.
The Athletics have been in position before to advance to the ALCS and have let them slip through their fingers, including in Game 5 last season as well as in four straight seasons in early 2000s when they lost 3-2 each year in the division series. Oakland has the advantage now with Game 5 coming at home, but they may want to try their best to get things done early, as likely Cy Young winner Max Scherzer will be on the mound for Game 5 and he is scheduled to go up against Bartolo Colon.
The Tigers came into the playoffs as one of the most consistent offensive teams in the majors and now that will be put to the test on Tuesday night at Comerica. Things got heated between the two teams at the end of the game in the ninth with Grant Balfour and Victor Martinez and on Tuesday that could spill over a bit. The Athletics are looking to get to the American League Championship Series for the first time since back in 2006 when they were swept and making it would be a huge boost for Billy Beane and his franchise.
Balfour got the save on Tuesday and he could be asked to close things out again against the Tigers if Oakland can put themselves in the lead in the ninth. Balfour has been one of the best closers in baseball this season and he could get the chance to pitch the team into the ALCS. The Tigers come in as the Central champs and despite having Miguel Cabrera, the wins leader in Scherzer and the ERA leader in Anibal Sanchez, they are one game away from heading home for the postseason. Last year the team was swept in the World Series and they are looking to get back to the championship to try and win it this time.
