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Three years ago,
Jeremy Bonderman
was a rookie pitcher on a Detroit team that endured one of the worst seasons in major league history. A week ago, he helped
the Tigers advance in their first playoff action in nearly 20 years.
On Saturday, he can get them back into the World Series for the first time since 1984.
Bonderman can continue Detroit's improbable rise and complete a sweep with a win over the
Oakland Athletics
in Game 4 of the AL championship series at Comerica Park on Saturday afternoon.
In 2003, the Tigers were baseball's biggest joke. They opened the season with nine straight losses en route to a 43-119 record.
Only winning five of their final six games prevented them from tying the 1962
New York Mets
for the most losses in a 162-game schedule.
''I thought going through that was good, it built some character, and now you get to enjoy the success you're having now,''
said left fielder
Craig Monroe
, one of nine current Tigers left from that team. ''Without that failure, I'm not sure that we could really embrace and enjoy
the moment we're having right now.''
Not long ago, that moment didn't look like it would occur. The Tigers held a 10-game lead over the second-place
Chicago White Sox
on Aug. 7, and appeared headed to the postseason as division champions. After a 19-31 finish to the regular season, though,
they entered the playoffs as a wild card.
After dropping the AL division series opener to the heavily favored Yankees, the Tigers won three straight to reach the ALCS
for the first time since 1987. With a 3-0 win Friday, Detroit pushed Oakland to the brink of elimination.
Kenny Rogers
allowed two hits over 7 1-3 innings, and Monroe had two hits - including a homer - and scored twice.
''Hopefully we will do something special tomorrow,'' Monroe said.
With one more Tigers win, a wild-card team would reach the World Series for the fifth straight year.
''For most of the year, the
Detroit Tigers
were the best in baseball,'' Athletics general manager
Billy Beane
said. ''They seem to be, at this point, at least in the first three games, playing like that.''
Bonderman (1-0, 2.16 ERA), who was not yet two years old when the Tigers swept the
San Diego Padres
in the 1984 World Series, can help Detroit clinch its second postseason series. The right-hander came within two outs of a
complete game in his last start, an 8-3 win over the heavily favored
New York Yankees
in Game 4 to clinch the ALDS.
He retired the first 15 batters he faced and gave up just two runs and five hits.
''I just wanted to go out and attack them,'' said Bonderman, who was 6-19 for Detroit in 2003. ''I just wanted to leave everything
I had on the field, and I think I did. This is the greatest thrill in the world. You can't ask for anything better.''
Bonderman was 1-4 with a 6.83 ERA in his first five home starts this season. Since then, including the postseason, he's 6-0
with a 3.53 ERA in 13 starts at Comerica.
Oakland does not have history on its side. The only team in baseball ever to rally from a 3-0 deficit in the postseason was
the 2004
Boston Red Sox
over the Yankees in the ALCS, but A's manager
Ken Macha
believes his team could do the same.
''It's not an impossible task,'' he said. ''I think the approach has always been one game. We've got four good starters lined
up.''
Dan Haren
(1-0, 3.00), who helped the A's advance to the ALCS in his last start, now will try to keep them from being swept in a seven-game
series for just the third time in franchise history. The right-hander gave up two runs and nine hits over six innings of an
8-3 win over Minnesota on Oct. 6 to clinch that division series.
Haren was 0-1 with a 5.54 ERA in two regular-season starts against the Tigers, with the loss coming in Detroit. On July 21,
Haren was tagged for all seven runs and nine hits over six innings of a 7-4 defeat.
Oakland was swept by Cincinnati in the 1990 World Series, and the 1914 Philadelphia A's lost four in a row to Boston.
If the A's are to force a Game 5, they will need to rediscover their offense. Thomas enjoyed a resurgence during his first
season with Oakland, hitting 39 homers and driving in 114, and added two more homers in a Game 1 ALDS win over the Twins.
Against the Tigers, though, he's 0-for-10 with five strikeouts.
''I'm not feeling pressure,'' he said. ''We've been outplayed. When you're being outplayed, how do you feel pressure?''
Nick Swisher
, second in the regular season to Thomas with 35 homers and 95 RBIs, is 0-for-7 with five strikeouts and four walks. He is
not ready to concede the series to Detroit.
''No, not until this series is over,'' he said. ''As of right now, obviously the series says yes. It's just frustrating sometimes.
Sometimes the breaks just don't go your way. It just hasn't gone for us the way we wanted so far.''
Neither has done much this season against Bonderman: Thomas had a single in three at-bats and Swisher was 0-for-2 with a walk.
Game 5, if necessary, is set for Sunday afternoon in Detroit.
Barry Zito
is scheduled to pitch for Oakland against the Tigers'
Nate Robertson
in a rematch of the Game 1 starters.
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