The Oakland Athletics are attempting to avoid another 2-0 deficit to the Detroit Tigers in the postseason. After losing their opening game on Friday, the team is hoping to defeat ace Justin Verlander who is hoping to give the Tigers the series lead before returning home.
Verlander will try and get the Tigers the win in order to hopefully sweep the Athletics when they return home for Game 3 on Monday. The pitcher went 13-12 in the regular season with a 3.46 ERA. His postseason history works well with the Tigers. Last season, he kicked off the teams AL pennant winning season with a 3-1 win over Oakland. In his playoff career against Oakland, Verlander is 3-0 with a 2.11 ERA and 28 strikeouts. While his season might not have been as impressive, his postseason track record speaks for itself.
Sonny Gray will get the call for Oakland. Th right-hander was 4-1 with a 2.27 ERA in his last six starts before postseason play. He became a permanent member of the Athletic's rotation in August. This will be his postseason debut and he has a tall order on hand. He has never faced Detroit before and will get a first look at Miguel Cabrera and Alex Avila who both contributed RBI singles in the win.
Yoenis Cespedes and Max Scherzer help contributed to the few points Oakland got on Friday night. It will be tough to play better against Verlander. Coco Crisp has the most experience with Verlander. He went 8 for 24 against him in the regular season, but is 1 for 8 against Verlander in the division series.
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