DETROIT: The small-budget Oakland Athletics came close again against the visiting Detroit Tigers but fell short of reaching the American League Championship Series with a 3-0 loss in a deciding Game Five yesterday.
It was deja vu all over again as Tigers ace Justin Verlander shut them down in the showdown game just as he had last year.
“When you don’t get a runner past first base, it’s tough,” said Oakland catcher Stephen Vogt.
Verlander carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning before Yoenis Cespedes singled sharply up the middle. He gave up two hits in all with one walk and 10 strikeouts over eight innings.
The defeat stung the A’s, who had claimed the AL West title for a second successive season despite having Major League Baseball’s 27th smallest payroll at $71m after having the lowest in the majors last year at $59.5m.
REUTERS
