OAKLAND, Calif. - With the season on the line once more in Oakland, Justin Verlander pitched another Game 5 gem.
Verlander carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning and Miguel Cabrera homered to lead the Detroit Tigers pastthe Athletics 3-0 on Thursday and back into the American League Championship Series.
Joaquin Benoit retired Seth Smith on a fly ball with two on in the ninth to close out the deciding game of their division series. The Tigers became the first team to reach the ALCS in three consecutive years since the New York Yankees (1998-2001).
Anibal Sanchez will start Game 1 in Boston on Saturday. The Tigers went 4-3 against the Red Sox this year. They have never faced each other in the postseason.
Detroit staved off elimination at home in Game 4, overcoming a three-run deficit Tuesday. Behind Verlander, the Tigers never trailed in the clincher.
The big right-hander gave up a clean, two-out single to Yoenis Cespedes in the seventh to end his chance at the third no-hitter in postseason history, but the hit hardly fazed him.
Verlander has not allowed a run against the A’s in 30 postseason innings dating back to last October.
Verlander tossed a four-hit, 6-0 masterpiece in Game 5 in this very ballpark last season, a 122-pitch performance that marked his first career postseason shutout and complete game.
He nearly matched that Thursday with a spectacular 111-pitch outing in a rematch of his thrilling pitcher’s duel with rookie Sonny Gray five days earlier in Game 2.
“It felt good out there,” said Verlander, who allowed only three runners. “It’s the first time in a while my change up’s been really good. Obviously this lineup, with a bunch of left-handed hitters, that was a big pitch for me.”
Aching slugger Cabrera hit a two-run home run in the fourth with a drive into the left-field seats for his first home run since Sept. 17 and just his third extra-base hit in 99 at-bats. That ended a 20-inning scoreless streak by the Tigers at the Coliseum.
Gray danced with danger from the start and wasn’t nearly as crisp as he was just five nights before when he matched zeros with the 2011 AL MVP and Cy Young Award winner.
Verlander didn’t allow a runner Thursday until Josh Reddick drew a one-out walk in the sixth, but the no-hit bid remained until Cespedes’ single the next inning. The hardest-hit ball was a fly to the center-field warning track by Stephen Vogt in the sixth.
Verlander struck out 10 in 8 innings, giving him 21 strikeouts in his 2 ALDS starts. He has 43 strikeouts in four playoff games against Oakland the past two years.
The A’s saw their season end at the hands of Detroit for the third time in as many postseasons, including in a four-game sweep in the 2006 ALCS. Oakland has lost its past six winner-take-all Game 5s and fell to 1-12 in potential clinchers since 2000.
The A’s struck out 57 times, the most in a best-of-5 playoff series.
Verlander earned the nod for the deciding game after Game 1 winner Max Scherzer pitched in relief in an 8-6, season-saving victory in Game 4 in Detroit. Manager Jim Leyland had no qualms turning again to Verlander, who went 13-12 this season.
A’s Manager Bob Melvin went with Gray over 18-game winner Bartolo Colon, who yielded three first-inning runs to lose Game 1, but Gray looked over matched from the start and never looked comfortable in his 12th career start.
Gray’s curve ball had less break, and he never found the same groove that carried him in his playoff debut.
Gray, 23, returned for the sixth inning at 92 pitches but was done once he allowed consecutive singles to Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta. Omar Infante then drove in Detroit’s third run with a fielder’s choice grounder off Dan Otero.
Rookie starters have lost their past six winner-take-all postseason games since Daisuke Matsuzaka beat Cleveland in the 2007 ALCS for Boston.
Detroit held another clinching party in the visiting clubhouse of the Oakland Coliseum, where a raucous crowd of 46,959 swirled yellow towels until Benoit threw his hands in the air at the final out. Catcher Alex Avila met Benoit in front of the mound for a long embrace as their teammates quickly joined them with cheers of “Let’s go Oakland!” still ringing out.
Now the Tigers will turn their attention to the Red Sox as they try to take the next step and win a championship after being swept in four games by the San Francisco Giants in the 2012 World Series.
“That’s the motivation that we’ve been looking for, that we’ve had all year,” Verlander said. “Guys like Torii [Hunter], who wasn’t a part of our team last year, he comes in and he’s got that urge. He wants to win that championship before he retires. Everybody else that was here that had a taste of that last year how much it hurts, it’s that extra driving factor.”
At a glance AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Detroit vs. Boston All times Central Best-of-7 x-if necessary
SATURDAY’S GAME Detroit (Sanchez 14-8) at Boston (Lester 15-8), 6:30 p.m.
SUNDAY’S GAME Detroit at Boston, 7 p.m.
TUESDAY’S GAME Boston at Detroit
WEDNESDAY’S GAME Boston at Detroit
THURSDAY, OCT. 17 x-Boston at Detroit
SATURDAY, OCT. 19 x-Detroit at Boston
SUNDAY, OCT. 20 x-Detroit at Boston
Sports, Pages 19 on 10/11/2013