The Oakland A’s spectacular first half of the season has been followed by a miserable second half. They are now 9.5 games behind the Los Angeles Angels. But, they still hold the the Wild Card lead and now are one game up on the Detroit Tigers. With only 17 games left in the regular season, it has become a reality that the Athletics will most likely be playing in the Wild Card game unless something goes terribly wrong and they miss the postseason completely. If they were to play the Wild Card game today, the Oakland A’s would ultimately face the Detroit Tigers – the Athletics’ postseason Achilles’ heel.
[Oakland A's: 5 keys to a turnaround]
The Oakland A’s have faced the Detroit Tigers twice before in the postseason and the outcome has not been in the Athletics favor. Both in 2012 and in 2013, the Oakland A’s lost in five games to the Tigers. The Tigers pitching was just too strong and the Athletics did not have a great offensive lineup. Sadly, there is a very real possibility history could repeat itself for a third time this year.
Justin Verlander
Per usual, The Tigers can choose between any of there three Cy Young winners to take the mound for this one Wild Card game. Even though Justin Verlander has not been as sharp as in past seasons, Rick Porcello is also strong and has picked up some of Verlander’s slack this year. He currently has an 15-11 record with a 1.18 WHIP. Even though the Tigers bullpen is one of the worst in the league, the Athletics would have to battle against a fierce starting pitcher before reaching the any of the relievers.
This could be a challenge for the Oakland A’s because the real problem is that Athletics are just not producing runs. With Detroit’s strong starting rotation, Oakland has no chance of winning if they cannot get a run or two scored within the first five innings. As a team, they averaged 5.05 runs per game before Yoenis Cespedes left, and now they are only averaging 3.8.
Additionally, Detroit’s lineup is scary. With back to back American League MVP and Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera leading the way, Detroit is first in the MLB for batting average and on base percentage with a .277 and .331 respectively. They are also second in the Majors in slugging and runs. The Oakland A’s have upgraded their starting pitching over the course of this season and they do have strong pitchers that can take on the this lineup. However, if their offense cannot back up A’s pitchers, then the Athletics will not beat the Tigers in a Wild Card game.
Whether it was the lose of Cespedes or the addition of new teammates, this is not the same team that took the field back in April. The Oakland A’s were more prepared to take on the Detroit Tigers last year then they are this year. If the Athletics were to face Detroit tomorrow, they would lose. Hopefully they can pull it together to make it to the AL Wild Card game and ultimately win.
For more news, rumors, and opinions on the Athletics, visit the isportsweb Oakland A’s homepage.
This article Oakland A’s: Could the A’s beat the Detroit Tigers in the Wild Card game? appeared first on isportsweb by Sam Riley