| SEASON | CAREER |
| W6 | 6 |
| L0 | 0 |
| G11 | 11 |
| IP65.0 | 65.0 |
| BB11 | 11 |
| SO53 | 53 |
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W16 | 52 |
| L6 | 41 |
| G29 | 139 |
| IP176.2 | 793.0 |
| BB55 | 265 |
| SO220 | 818 |
The Oakland Athletics are in much better shape than the Detroit Tigers in regards to the postseason race, though that easily could change considering each team's schedule over the final two weeks.
Oakland will face three playoff contenders during a 10-game road trip that begins Tuesday night in Detroit, while the Tigers seemingly have a much easier road ahead.
The A's (84-62) lead the AL wild-card race by 4 1/2 games over third-place Los Angeles after Sunday's 9-5 loss to Baltimore, which holds the second wild-card berth.
Oakland took two of three from the Orioles and has won eight of 10.
"We're playing it day to day, but going into this series if you've got a chance to take two of three from a good team like that, you'll take it," manager Bob Melvin said.
Oakland hopes for similar results during a grueling trip. After three games at Comerica Park, it meets first-place New York before a four-game set with AL West-leading Texas, which it trails by three games in the division race.
The A's will face the Rangers seven times in their final 16 games that will be played without a day off.
"At this time of year I don't think 16 in a row is going to bother us because every game's going to have the magnitude that it is," Melvin said. "Everybody's looking forward to getting to the park and playing."
Especially Detroit (77-69), which has to make up more ground after falling 5-4 to first-place Chicago on Monday, increasing the Tigers' deficit in the AL Central to three games.
"I certainly don't think this thing is anywhere near over, but we have to win games," manager Jim Leyland said. "There's plenty of time if you win games. If you don't win games, then you run out of time."
The Tigers' schedule seems favorable the rest of the way. After this series, they'll play six games with AL-worst Minnesota and face Kansas City seven times.
Leyland, though, isn't about to overlook the surging A's. The teams split a four-game series from May 10-13 in Oakland.
"They've got outstanding pitching. And they've been getting timely hits," Leyland said. "If you look at their batting averages, it's not like they've got seven guys hitting .310, but they've been very productive. They've done a (great) job."
A.J. Griffin has been a major reason A's starting pitchers rank second in the AL with a 3.69 ERA, and the rookie will look to stay hot Tuesday.
Griffin (6-0, 1.94 ERA) won his third straight start after tossing eight scoreless innings in Wednesday's 4-1 victory over the Angels. The 24-year-old right-hander, who was promoted from Triple-A Sacramento on June 24, has plenty of support from his manager.
"That's probably as good as we've seen him," Melvin said. "He's got a lot of confidence and he's been fun to watch."
The A's offense, though, likely will get a tough test from major league strikeout leader Max Scherzer , who is 6-0 with a 1.29 ERA over his last seven starts.
Scherzer (16-6, 3.77), who has struck out 60 in 49 innings during that stretch, gave up one run and fanned seven in six innings of Wednesday's 8-6 win over the White Sox. Pitching in crucial games only seems to motivate him more.
"I love being in this situation," said Scherzer, who has 220 strikeouts. "I want to have all the marbles on the line in a pennant race, where these games mean everything. I love having the ball in this situation."
The right-hander allowed two runs and struck out nine in 6 1-3 innings for a 10-6 win May 10 over Oakland, which has won four of the last six meetings in the Motor City.
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AVG
HRRUNSSBSOBBOBPSLGOPSERAQSSOBBSVBSBAAWHIPE
VS.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Daric Barton | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Coco Crisp | 3 | .667 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .667 | 1.334 | .667 |
| Luke Hughes | 5 | .200 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .200 | 1.000 | .800 |
| Kila Ka'aihue | 6 | .167 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .167 | .334 | .167 |
| Cliff Pennington | 4 | .250 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .400 | 1.400 | 1.000 |
| Josh Reddick | 1 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2.000 | 1.000 |
| Seth Smith | 5 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Eric Sogard | 2 | .500 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | 1.000 | .500 |
| Kurt Suzuki | 1 | 1.000 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 5.000 | 4.000 |
 Oakland Athletics |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| September 05, 2012 | Brandon McCarthy | Day-to-Day | Left game - head injury |
| September 02, 2012 | Brandon Inge | Day-to-Day | Dislocated right shoulder |
| September 02, 2012 | Brandon Inge | 15-Day DL | Strained right shoulder |
| August 18, 2012 | Jordan Norberto | 15-Day DL | Left shoulder tendinitis |
| August 12, 2012 | Brandon Inge | 15-Day DL | Dislocated right shoulder |
| August 12, 2012 | Brandon Inge | 15-Day DL | Dislocated right shoulder |
 Detroit Tigers |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| September 16, 2012 | Austin Jackson | Day-to-Day | Sore left ankle |
| September 11, 2012 | Ryan Raburn | 15-Day DL | Strained right quadriceps |
| August 23, 2012 | Miguel Cabrera | Day-to-Day | Left game - Right ankle soreness |
| August 23, 2012 | Doug Fister | Day-to-Day | Tightness in right groin |
| August 01, 2012 | Ryan Raburn | 15-Day DL | Sprained right thumb |
| August 01, 2012 | Ryan Raburn | 15-Day DL | Sprained right thumb |
DETROIT (AP) -- Miguel Cabrera is making a late push for the Triple Crown - and if he keeps swinging like this, the Detroit Tigers could still have a shot in the AL Central.
Cabrera homered twice, including a grand slam in the eighth inning, and the Tigers routed the Oakland Athletics 12-2 on Tuesday night. Detroit lost right-hander Max Scherzer after only two innings to fatigue in his throwing shoulder, but an MRI revealed no structural damage.
The Chicago White Sox beat Kansas City to remain three games ahead of Detroit atop the division, taking something away from Cabrera's big night.
"Our job is to win games. There's no talk about personal numbers," Cabrera said. "Hopefully we can get a good winning streak."
Cabrera now leads the American League with a .333 average and 129 RBIs. He also has a career-high 40 homers - two behind Josh Hamilton for the top spot.
The last Triple Crown winner was Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.
"That's a hard thing to do. You've got to be lucky," Cabrera said. "Hopefully we get lucky in our division and win more games."
Prince Fielder and Jhonny Peralta added home runs for the Tigers. Darin Downs (2-1) pitched 2 2-3 scoreless innings for the win in relief of Scherzer.
Oakland rookie A.J. Griffin (6-1) lost for the first time in his career.
"Just wasn't executing pitches the way I usually do," Griffin said. "Wasn't pounding down in the zone, leaving pitches up and they capitalized on it."
Scherzer entered the game with a major league-leading 220 strikeouts and added four more to that total before leaving after only two innings. He's expected to go a couple days without throwing, then be evaluated again.
"I didn't have any pain in my shoulder - it was just like my arm was dead," Scherzer said. "MRI came back negative. All the structural - it's all good."
After a gut-wrenching 5-4 loss to the White Sox in Chicago on Monday, the Tigers were back home, where they've now won 27 of 35. They'll play their next nine games at home before going on the road for the final six.
Griffin was the only pitcher since at least 1918 to allow three runs or fewer and walk two batters or fewer in each of his first 11 career starts. That streak came to an end Tuesday. He allowed five runs and eight hits in 4 2-3 innings, walking one and striking out three.
Oakland took the lead in the first on an RBI single by Brandon Moss , but Detroit answered immediately with Cabrera's sacrifice fly.
Peralta gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead in the second with his 12th homer of the year, and Cabrera hit a solo shot of his own the following inning.
Fielder's 27th homer of the year - a two-run shot in the fifth - made it 5-1, and the A's never made much progress against the Detroit relievers. Oakland came in three games behind first-place Texas in the AL West, but leading the wild-card race. This 10-game swing to Detroit, New York and Texas is their last trip of the regular season.
Austin Jackson hit an RBI double in the sixth for Detroit, and Quintin Berry added a two-run double to make it 8-1. Berry left in the top of the seventh with a right shoulder contusion after a diving attempt to catch Josh Reddick 's double. X-rays were negative.
Reddick scored on a single by Yoenis Cespedes .
Oakland outfielder Coco Crisp started after having been out since Saturday. He'd missed time because of an allergic reaction in his left eye, and he left this game in the fourth because of complications to an existing eye infection.
Detroit added four more runs in the eighth on Cabrera's grand slam. Oakland reliever Jesse Chavez was then ejected for hitting Fielder with a pitch.
NOTES: Detroit C Alex Avila did not play and is day-to-day. He's still recovering after colliding with Fielder on Sunday chasing a pop in Cleveland. He's been bothered by headaches. His replacement, Gerald Laird , had three hits. .. Moss had three hits for the A's. ... Detroit RHP Justin Verlander (14-8) takes the mound Wednesday night against Oakland LHP Brett Anderson (4-1).
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Oakland Athletics
