Tigers Go For 13 In A Row
By the time the Detroit Tigers leave the field following the final out of their next game, they could be division champions for the first time since 1987.
Looking for their 13th straight win, the Tigers visit the Oakland Athletics on Thursday night.
Detroit's magic number to clinch the AL Central is one over the Chicago White Sox and two over Cleveland, which means the Tigers could secure the title with a win in the opener of this four-game set if the Indians lose at Texas earlier Thursday.
Detroit (87-62) hasn't won a division crown since taking the AL East 24 years ago. The Tigers reached the World Series in 2006 as a wild card.
They extended the club's longest winning streak in 77 years in dramatic fashion Wednesday. Ryan Raburn and Alex Avila had pinch-hit homers in the ninth inning to tie the game, and Carlos Guillen singled home the go-ahead run in the 10th for a 6-5 victory over the White Sox.
"We're having a good time," said Raburn, who's hit two homers in his last three games. "We're having fun going out and playing, just trying to enjoy the moment and keep going on."
A's manager Bob Melvin said he doesn't want to see the Tigers celebrate in Oakland, but added his players could learn from the experience.
"Certainly you don't want them celebrating on your field and in your clubhouses, but having said that, I've seen that happen before," Melvin told the team's official website. "I think the younger players, the catch-22 is they get to see something that we would like to do.
"But if you have the opportunity to hold them off and not have them do it at your place, that's probably the better of the two outcomes."
If the A's (67-82) want to delay the Tigers from celebrating for at least one day, they may need to slow down Victor Martinez, who's hitting .354 (17 for 48) with three homers and 17 RBIs during the 12-game win streak. Martinez is 7 for 21 with three doubles and three RBIs in five games against Oakland this year.
Detroit will send out Max Scherzer (14-8, 4.27 ERA) to make his second career start against the Athletics. He lasted just 5 2-3 innings versus Oakland on May 30, 2010, but didn't allow a run while striking out a career-high 14 in a 10-2 victory.
That made him the only pitcher since 1900 to rack up 14 strikeouts or more while failing to complete six innings.
The right-hander has identical 7-4 records at home and on the road in 2011, but Scherzer's ERA on the road is 5.09 compared to 3.66 at Comerica Park.
Scherzer yielded two runs and five hits over seven innings Saturday, but didn't get a decision in the Tigers' 3-2 home win over Minnesota.
While Detroit has committed just one error in its last eight games, Oakland made two in Wednesday's 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. The A's have nine miscues over their last seven games, and their 119 this season are second in the majors behind the Chicago Cubs.
Josh Willingham tied a career high with his 26th homer Wednesday, but he's 2 for 19 with no homers against Detroit this year.
Oakland's Brandon McCarthy (8-8, 3.45) is slated to face the Tigers for the third time this year after getting no-decisions in the first two meetings.
The right-hander pitched six scoreless innings at home April 15, then allowed four runs in five-plus innings July 20 in Detroit, but the A's lost the first game and won the second.
McCarthy, who tossed a three-hit shutout in his last home start Sept. 3 against Seattle, took the loss in Friday's 13-4 defeat at Texas after allowing four runs in six innings.
Oakland and Detroit have split six meetings in 2011.
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