The Detroit Tigers clawed their way back into the American League championship series with a 5-2 win over Texas thanks to strong pitching from Doug Fister and a Miguel Cabrera home run. Fister pitched effectively into the eighth inning and Cabrera also belted a tiebreaking double for the Tigers, who trail the Rangers 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.
Fister allowed just two runs and seven hits with no walks. It was his first appearance in the 2011 Major League Baseball semi-final series after winning the decisive fifth game in the opening round. "They came out firing but I just stuck with (the) game plan and used our defence," Fister said. "They hit a few groundballs that made it through the holes, and good hitters do. I used our defence. Tremendous plays out there, and you know that's the name of the game."
Jose Valverde posted his third playoff save by working around a leadoff double by the Rangers in the ninth. The Tigers acquired Fister at the trade deadline this season. He had a rough first inning but then settled in for a long and productive night. Cabrera, Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta all hit home runs and Austin Jackson went three-for-five at the plate with a run scored and an RBI.
"It's going to be a long series," Cabrera said. "Nobody (said) it's going to be easy. You've got to be patient."Rangers starter Colby Lewis suffered his first loss in the postseason. He was charged with four runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. "He throws strikes and every now and then he's going to give up some long balls. I thought it was a pretty good ballgame," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "He kept us in the ballgame. It was Fister that did the job out there tonight."
After leaving 22 runners on base in the first two games, Detroit struggled early against Lewis. The Tigers had two on with one out in the second, but Alex Avila and Ryan Raburn both struck out. It was Texas's first loss since a game one defeat to the Tampa Bay Rays in the opening round of the playoffs.
Detroit dropped the first two games of the series, including a heartbreaking loss in game two when Rangers slugger Nelson Cruz blasted the first walkoff grand slam in MLB playoff history. Game four is Wednesday. Matt Harrison, who went 14-9 this season, will start for Texas against Tiger ace Rick Porcello.