The Oakland Athletics play the Detroit Tigers on Monday in Game 3 of their AL division series. The game starts at 1:07 p.m. ET. Listen to the live radio broadcast HERE.
Entering Monday's game, the series is split 1-1. Detroit took Game 1 on Friday with a 3-2 win, and Oakland bounced back on Saturday with a 1-0 win. For the Tigers, their pitching rotation makes them dangerous. Max Scherzer started Game 1, and Justin Verlander started Game 2. Anibal Sanchez is slated to pitch on Monday; Doug Fister gets the start for Game 4.
"They're lucky enough to have three guys - and really Fister at times can be just as tough as any of them," Oakland manager Bob Melvin told the Associated Press. "If you put any of those four guys on a different team ... you're looking at top-of-the-rotation guys."
The Tigers traded for Sanchez (14-8, 2.57 ERA) in the middle of last season, and it's paid off.
"We knew we were getting a guy that was going to keep you in the game, but he's definitely been much better than I think anybody thought, as far as his consistency," said Tigers catcher Alex Avila.
Sanchez's counterpart on Monday will be Oakland pitcher Jarrod Parker (12-8, 3.97), who admitted he doesn't feel pressure to change anything about his game in order to match Detroit's pitchers.
"That's the goal every time out," said Parker. "I'm not going to go out and press and force and not be who I am."
Detroit shortstop Jhonny Peralta will play in his first home game since his 50-game suspension, according to the Associated Press. Peralta was suspended in August as result of the MLB's investigation of Biogenesis, the now-closed Florida anti-aging clinic at the center of baseball's latest drug scandal. Jose Iglesias is expected to remain at shortstop, and Peralta will be in the outfield, where he played in the final three games of the regular season.
