Tigers 5, Athletics 4
Don Kelly hit a walk-off sacrifice fly off Grant Balfour as host Detroit took a 2-0 lead in the American League Division Series.
Balfour intentionally walked Prince Fielder with one out to load the bases and face Kelly, who hit a fly ball to right field that scored Omar Infante from third.
Al Alburquerque (1-0) retired Yoenis Cespedes with runners at the corners in the top of the ninth for the win for Detroit, which has beaten Oakland in six straight postseason games dating back to 2006.
The late-inning drama capped a back-and-forth game that included Coco Crisp’s two-run fielding error in the bottom of the seventh, which allowed Detroit to take a 3-2 lead. Crisp tripped after trying to make a basket catch on Miguel Cabrera’s fly ball in center field.
Oakland scored twice in the eighth when Cespedes singled and stole second and third base before scoring on a wild pitch. Josh Reddick then put Oakland ahead when he homered on a 3-2 pitch to right field off Joaquin Benoit.
Doug Fister gave up two runs with eight strikeouts over seven frames for Detroit, which tied the game in the bottom of the eighth at 4-all when pinch runner Kelly scored on a Ryan Cook wild pitch with two outs.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Oakland rookie Tommy Milone allowed one run over six innings and retired 11 of his final 12 batters. … Reddick's homer was the fifth go-ahead home run in the eighth inning or later in Athletics playoff history. …The Athletics have started a series 0-2 seven times and have never come back to win. … Benoit allowed 11 home runs in the second half of the regular season. … Kelly’s walk-off sacrifice fly was the ninth in major league postseason history.