Somewhere in the ether, as Coco Crisp tried and failed to make a basket catch on a seventh inning Miguel Cabrera fly ball, Lou Brown shouted: Nice play, Crisp. Don’t even #$%*ing do it again.
Crisp’s poorly-executed juggling act gave the Tigers a brief 3-2 lead in Sunday's ALDS game two, but the A’s quickly battled back in the eighth. Yoenis Cespedes singled, stole two bases, and tied up the game on a wild pitch. Seconds later, Josh Reddick homered to put Oakland up 4-3.
The Tigers evened the score in the bottom of the eighth thanks to an Oakland wild pitch. They ultimately won the game with a ninth inning rally that began with singles from Omar Infante and Miguel Cabrera. The A’s intentionally walked Prince Fielder to load the bases with one out, then Don Kelly drove in the winning run—Infante—with a sacrifice fly to right field.
Following Sunday's 5-4 Tigers win, the series moves to Oakland for games three through five beginning Tuesday night. The Tigers need just one more win to advance to their second straight ALCS.
In the 17 years since Major League Baseball expanded the playoffs, only four teams (1995 Mariners, the 1999 Red Sox, the 2001 Yankees, and the 2003 Red Sox) have bounced back from an 0-2 deficit to win a division series. Interestingly enough, the A’s have twice blown 2-0 ALDS leads—in 2001 and 2003.
The Tigers are expected to start Anibal Sanchez (9-13, 3.86 ERA) Tuesday night. Oakland has yet to announce their game three starter.
