The Oakland Athletics need just one win to advance to the American League Championship Series, but the Detroit Tigers have other plans for Tuesday's Game 4 of the American League Division Series at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan.
The Athletics sluggers finally came alive on Monday as Seth Smith, Josh Reddick, Brandon Moss and Coco Crisp all drove in runs against one of the most lethal pitchers in the game in Tigers' hurler Anibal Sanchez.
"We're going to strike out and we're going to hit the long ball, so once we get those going, it's going to be a good day," Reddick told the Athletics' official website via ESPN. "And to do it against a guy like Sanchez, who's been great all year, it does a lot for your confidence coming into (Tuesday)."
With the victory, the A's are now on the verge of moving on to the pennant championship series and they only have to come up with at least the same performance they had against Doug Fister the last time around.
Fister, who boasted a 14-9 record with a 3.67 ERA this season, was totally embarrassed by the A's slugging unit after allowing seven runs and 13 hits in a 14-4 loss on August 28.
But for Detroit manager Jim Leyland, Fister and the rest of the Tigers have to deliver a win on Tuesday or else their World Series aspirations is all gone.
"There's no tricks. We've got to win the game (Tuesday) to try to extend it to Game 5. It's that simple," Leyland told ESPN.
On the other hand, the Athletics are determined to finish off the series today. A loss would mean they have to deal again with CY Young contender Max Scherzer in Game 5.
"We look at it as we have one to win one. If we get to five, we get to Game 5," Moss told ESPN. "This is not a team you want to give any momentum to. They're too good."
The Athletics will be fielding starter Dan Straily (10-8, 3.96), who had a strong regular-season finish by going 4-1 with a 2.00 ERA in his last six starts.
Live Stream & Schedule
TV Coverage of the NLDS between the Oakland Athletics and Detroit Tigers Game 4 will start at 5:07 p.m. EST on TBS. Live stream coverage can be seen on MLB.tv. while the game can be heard on MLB.com Gameday Audio. Live scores and game stats can be followed by clicking here
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