The Oakland Athletics could not complete an improbable series comeback against the Detroit Tigers in the American League Division Series, falling 6-0 in Game 5 on Thursday night.
The A's were stymied by Tigers ace Justin Verlander, who tossed a complete-game shutout. SB Nation A's blogger cuppingmaster over at Athletics Nation summed up Verlander's performance pretty well:
He's the planet's best pitcher, and he proved it tonight. A Herculean 122 pitch effort with 12 K's has propelled the Detroit Tigers into the ALCS.
Verlander actually struck out 11, but the point still stands. He absolutely dominated when the Tigers needed him most, and there was very little the A's could do about it. Cuppingmaster could only tip his cap, and instead of reminiscing about the negative, chose to focus on the positive of Oakland's wildly successful season. He also had a parting wish for the Tigers:
Seriously, so many stories made this season great. And this was a great series, too. Now, Tigers, just make sure that the Yankees don't get to the World Series.
The Tigers will sit around and wait for the winner of the Orioles/Yankees series, which was extended to a fifth game thanks to a 2-1 Orioles win in 13 innings Thursday night.