The Detroit Tigers successfully set the tone for the rest of the series by claiming a 1-0 lead in the American League Divisional Series. Behind a strong performance from starting pitcher Justin Verlander, the Tigers beat the Atheltics 3-1.

Verlander was his usual dominant self, going seven innings strong with 11 strikeouts and holding the Athletics lineup to one run.

The Oakland A's were quite good in the second half of the 2012 season. So good, in fact, that they had us all asking the same question every time they actually lost a game:

"Wait a second, how the heck did that just happen?"

Here we are on this Saturday night asking this question after Oakland's 3-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of the American League Division Series. What the heck kind of person/thing/ominous force sucked the life out of this A's team?

It's difficult to believe that there could be much criticism for a pitcher who won the AL MVP and Cy Young Award last season. 

But Justin Verlander carried a question over whether or not he could win a big game—more specifically, a playoff game—coming into the postseason.

Cincinnati Reds ace Johnny Cueto left Game 1 of the NLDS against the San Francisco Giants with what appeared to be a back injury.

Amy Gutierrez of CSN Bay Area gave more specifics on the injury.

Matt Harvey's line of duty in 2012 has come to an end following a strong outing a couple of nights ago against the Philadelphia Phillies. 

It's hard to complain about Harvey's performance in his rookie season. In fact, he was one of the Mets' few bright spots in the second half. 

In the majors, Harvey is 3-5 in 10 starts with a 2.73 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 70 strikeouts in 59.1 innings. 

Harvey's stats alone tell you a story about the pitcher.

There's a famous proverb that goes a little something like this:

"Every cloud has a silver lining." 

I argue that the strongest testament to this quote is the New York Mets of the 2012 season. Well, it could just as easily be applied to any Mets team since 2007, but I prefer to not dwell on the dark days of the past of my team and focus more on the dark days of the present!

It is too bad Yankee Stadium has a no reentry policy. Because fans that left after the Oakland Athletics clubbed three homers in the top of the 13th inning to take a 9-5 lead have to be kicking themselves.

In what is arguably one of the most memorable come-from-behind wins this season, the Yankees beat Oakland 10-9 in 14 innings.

The San Francisco Giants have been known for their pitching for a long time. But this year, the staff has regressed a bit.

All five pitchers have gone through rough patches this year, some longer than others. Even Matt Cain, he of the perfect game, 15-5 record and 2.86 ERA, has had his struggles. Madison Bumgarner has too, and Tim Lincecum has had a rough year overall.

In the month of September dreams can come true, or they can just as easily be broken.

Right now for any fan of baseball, the month of September has been extremely entertaining. While two division races have been locked up and both the Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals have punched their postseason tickets, there are still several teams vying for that playoff berth.

The Los Angeles Dodgers must be somewhat relieved that Clayton Kershaw's injury doesn't seem as serious as some people might have feared.