The Detroit Tigers defeated the Oakland Athletics taking Game 1 of the ALDS 3-1 as their ace Justin Verlander was practically unhittable.
It was, without a doubt, the best postseason pitching performance of Verlander's career as he went seven innings only allowing one run on three hits. He walked three, but struckout eleven batters. Verlander closed out his start striking out five of six A's hitters.
He looked a little shaky in the first inning as Coco Crisp whacked a ball up in the zone down the right field line, but beyond that home run, the A's were unable to hurt Verlander.
The Tigers responded right back as Austin Jackson and Quintin Berry reached with hits that were deflected by Athletics infielders. With runners on first and third, Miguel Cabrera hit into a double play that scored Jackson.
Jarrod Parker pitched well, but allowed the Tigers to take the lead in the third following a botched attempt at scooping and feeding first baseman Brandon Moss the ball at first as Berry raced down the line. Omar Infante scored from second base as the ball trickled into foul territory.
Alex Avila put the icing on the cake with a solo blast that gave the Tigers a 3-1 lead. Joaquin Benoit and Jose Valverde pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings to seal the deal for Verlander and the Tigers.
The Tigers have a 1-0 series lead. Game 2 is tomorrow at 12 p.m. ET. Doug Fister will take the mound for the Tigers, while Tommy Milone will try to prevent the A's from going down 0-2 in the series.
