Game Recap

The Detroit Tigers gutted out a crucial 3-1 victory in Game 1 over the Oakland Athletics on Saturday night in a tight matchup that went down to the wire.

Justin Verlander opened his 2012 playoff run with a bang and proved his reigning AL MVP status with a dominating performance on the mound, giving up just three hits and one earned run on a first-inning home run from Coco Crisp.

That home run would end up being the only scoring play for the A's on the day.

Of the four Division Series matchups, this one probably featured the most different teams.

The Athletics exceeded almost everyone's expectations with rookies and other youngsters, while the Tigers were on the outside looking in for most of the season despite their high expectations with superstars like Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder on the roster.

Major League Baseball's playoff picture is being hashed out night by night, with each day's games becoming more and more important.

Some races have been tied up. The National League's division races are in the bag, and terming them "races" would be misleading. Everything else, on the other hand, is coming down to the wire.

Saturday's action will bring us another step closer to the end.

Game recaps will be available as each game ends.

*All times ET

The MLB is gearing up for yet another exciting end to the regular season as Cinderella teams are sprinkled in with some World Series favorites in many tight races for playoff spots. While we may not get the type of regular-season finale that we were blessed with last year, there's still plenty of intriguing storylines and teams right on the cusp of playoff berths. 

Ryan Cook allowed a ninth-inning game-tying home run for the second straight game. Toronto scored twice in the 11th inning to stun the Oakland A's 3-1 Saturday afternoon at the Coliseum.

David Cooper blasted Cook's 1-1 fastball to right center field to tie the game at one. The A's had a chance to win in the 10th inning, but Josh Reddick struck out looking with the bases loaded. 

During a contest that saw the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim lose to the Chicago White Sox in extra innings, manager Mike Scioscia argued an umpire's call so vehemently that he took the rather extreme step of filing an official protest.

The Oakland Athletics recalled their surprise phenom Daniel Straily in time to start last night's game. I wrote in a previous article that the element of surprise might benefit Oakland.

The A's came back from a four-run first inning and played long ball en route to an 8-5 victory over the Colorado Rockies.

After another great outing from Adam Wainwright, the St. Louis Cardinals fall again after bullpen struggles and defensive miscues continue to plague the team.

Wainwright put together a big night going seven innings giving up only two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts. By any stretch, that's a great night. Not only was he pitching well, he got an early base hit and made a pair of key defensive plays.