2013 American League Division Series
Teams
Team (Wins) Manager Season Boston Red Sox (3) John Farrell 97–65, .599, GA:5+1⁄2 Tampa Bay Rays (1) Joe Maddon 92–71, .564, GB:5+1⁄2
Dates	October 4–8
Television	TBS
TV announcers	Brian Anderson,John Smoltz,Joe Simpson andRachel Nichols
Radio	ESPN
Radio announcers	Jon Sciambi andChris Singleton
Umpires	Dana DeMuth (crew chief),Eric Cooper,Paul Emmel,Chris Guccione,Larry Vanover,Mike Winters
Teams
Team (Wins) Manager Season Detroit Tigers (3) Jim Leyland 93–69, .574, GA: 1 Oakland Athletics (2) Bob Melvin 96–66, .593, GA:5+1⁄2
Dates	October 4–10
Television	TBS (Games 1–2, 4–5) MLB Network (Game 3)
TV announcers	Don Orsillo,Dennis Eckersley,Buck Martinez andDavid Aldridge (TBS) Matt Vasgersian,Jim Kaat andSam Ryan (MLBN)
Radio	ESPN
Radio announcers	Michael Kay andAaron Boone
Umpires	Gary Darling (crew chief),C. B. Bucknor,Mike DiMuro,Tom Hallion,Jim Reynolds,Mark Wegner
ALWC	Tampa Bay Rays defeatedCleveland Indians, 4–0
← 2012 ALDS 2014 →

The2013American League Division Series were two best-of-five-game series inMajor League Baseball’s (MLB)2013 postseason to determine the teams that would participate in the2013 American League Championship Series. The three divisional winners (seeded 1-3 based on record) and a fourth team — the winner ofa one-game Wild Card playoff — played in two series.TBS carried most of the games, with some onMLB Network.

These matchups were:

• (1)Boston Red Sox (East Division champions) vs. (5)Tampa Bay Rays (Wild Card Game winner): Red Sox win series, 3–1.
• (2)Oakland Athletics (West Division champions) vs. (3)Detroit Tigers (Central Division champions): Tigers win series, 3–2.

^[1]

This was the 2nd time the Rays and Red Sox have faced each other in the postseason. The only other time was the2008 ALCS which was won by the Rays 4 games to 3.^[2]

This was the 4th time the Tigers and the A's have faced each other in the postseason.The Tigers and the A's faced each other in the1972 ALCS (A's won 3–2), in the2006 ALCS (Tigers won 4–0) and in the2012 ALDS (Tigers won 3–2).^[3]

The Red Sox went on to defeat the Tigers in the ALCS, then win the2013 World Series over the National League championSt. Louis Cardinals.

Boston won the series, 3–1.

Detroit won the series, 3–2.

In Game 1,Jon Lester of the Red Sox pitched7+2⁄3 innings, allowing home runs toSean Rodriguez in the second andBen Zobrist in the fourth. The only other hit he allowed was a one-out single toDelmon Young in the fourth. Trailing 2–0, the Red Sox' offense ignited in the bottom of the fourth inning offMatt Moore. After a leadoff single and ground-rule double.Jonny Gomes tied the game with a one-out double to center field. One out later,Stephen Drew's single andWill Middlebrooks's double scored a run each. AfterJacoby Ellsbury reached on a strike-three wild pitch,Shane Victorino capped the inning's scoring with an RBI single that put the Red Sox up 5–2. Next inning, after a one-out double and intentional walk,Jarrod Saltalamacchia's two-run double made it 7–2 Red Sox and knock Moore out of the game.Wesley Wright relieved Moore and after a strikeout and intentional walk, Ellsbury's RBI single made it 8–2 Red Sox. In the eighth, Ellsbury hit a leadoff single offJamey Wright, stole second and scored on Victorino's single. A single and walk loaded the bases beforeMike Napoli walked to force in a run, Gomes hit into a double play to score another, and Saltalamacchia's RBI single capped the game's scoring at 12–2 Red Sox.Junichi Tazawa andRyan Dempster provided effective relief pitching in the eighth and ninth to seal the Game 1 victory for the Red Sox.^[13]

Game 2 featured a match up betweenDavid Price, andJohn Lackey. In the first inning,Jacoby Ellsbury hit a blooper-single before stealing second and moving to third on a missed throw-out attempt. Dustin Pedroia got the sac-fly to bring him home. Ortiz, who had never hit a home run off Price, hit a home run into the bullpen to give the Red Sox an early 2–0 lead. The next inning, Tampa'sDelmon Young hit a sacrifice fly of his own with two on to make it 2–1. In the third, back-to-back leadoff doubles byDavid Ross and Ellsbury made it 3–1 Red Sox. After aShane Victorino single,Dustin Pedroia's RBI groundout made it 4–1 Red Sox. Next inning,Mike Napoli drew a leadoff walk and scored onStephen Drew's two-out triple to make it 5–1 Red Sox. In the fifth,James Loney hit a two-run double to cut the lead to 5–3. In the bottom of the fifth, a Pedroia line drive double scored Ellsbury from first, who singled to lead off, to make it 6–3. In the sixth,Desmond Jennings hit a leadoff single, moved to second on a groundout and scored onYunel Escobar's single to make it 6–4. In the bottom eighth David Ortiz hit a deep solo homer off Price to make it 7–4.Koji Uehara pitched a perfect ninth for a save. Lackey allowed four runs while coming through in clutch situations to keep the Sox in the lead throughout the game. According toJoe Maddon after the game, Price did not pitch badly even though he gave up seven earned runs. During Price's post-game interview, he claimed it was a lucky win for the Sox.^[14]

Dustin Pedroia started Game 3 with an RBI groundout offAlex Cobb in the first which scoredJacoby Ellsbury after a single and hit-by-pitch. In the top of the fifth, an Ellsbury double andShane Victorino single was followed by a wild pitch and RBI single byDavid Ortiz. In the bottom of the fifth,Evan Longoria hit a three-run home run offClay Buchholz to tie the game at three. The Rays took the lead in the eighth onDelmon Young's bases loaded groundout offBrandon Workman, the run charged toFranklin Morales, but the Red Sox tied the game in the ninth on Pedroia's groundout with runners on second and third offFernando Rodney. Tampa Bay'sJosé Lobatón hit a home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning offKoji Uehara into the Rays Touch Tank to beat the Red Sox 5–4 and keep the series alive. This was the Rays first postseason win at home since Game 2 of the2008 World Series^[15]

Craig Breslow came out of the bullpen to send the Red Sox into the AL championship series for the first time in five years.^[16]Breslow relieved Red Sox starterJake Peavy in the sixth inning and struck out his first four batters.^[17] The Rays struck first off of Peavy whenYunel Escobar hit a leadoff double in the sixth, moved to third on a groundout, and scored onDavid DeJesus's single, but in the seventh, the Red Sox got runners on first and third with two outs off ofJake McGee, who was relieved byJoel Peralta. A wild pitch toShane Victorino scored a run before Victorino singled to score another. The Red Sox loaded the bases off ofFernando Rodney on two walks and a hit-by-pitch beforeDustin Pedroia's sacrifice fly gave them an insurance run.Koji Uehara pitched a perfect bottom half for the save and with the series win, the Red Sox improved to 6–4 all-time in ALDS play; the Rays fell to 1–3.

2013 ALDS(3–1):Boston Red Sox overTampa Bay Rays

Bartolo Colón surrendered three runs in the first inning. After a double byAustin Jackson, Colon hitTorii Hunter with a pitch andMiguel Cabrera followed with an RBI single that sent Hunter to third.Prince Fielder grounded into a double play, with Hunter scoring on the play. After aVictor Martínez double,Alex Avila grounded a seeing-eye single to right, which gave Detroit an early 3–0 lead.Max Scherzer struck out 11 and gave up one hit through the first six innings. In the bottom of the seventh,Yoenis Céspedes hit a two-run home run to trim the Tigers lead to 3–2.Joaquín Benoit gotJosh Donaldson to pop out to first to end the eighth inning, and he then struck out the side in the ninth to close out the win. A's hitters fanned 16 times off three Tigers pitchers.^[18]

Game 2 was a fierce pitching duel between both teams.Oakland Athletics rookie starterSonny Gray matchedDetroit Tigers veteranJustin Verlander with eight shutout innings and nine strikeouts. Verlander was dominant as well, with seven shutout innings and 11 strikeouts. Both teams' bullpens carried the game scoreless into the bottom of the ninth. A's leadoff batterYoenis Céspedes started the inning with a ground ball single into left field.Seth Smith followed up with a ground ball single into right field, moving Céspedes over to third base. Tigers relieverAl Alburquerque then intentionally walkedJosh Reddick to load the bases. With no outs in the bottom of the ninth, Alburquerque was lifted forRick Porcello. A's catcherStephen Vogt greeted Porcello with a line-drive single to left field, driving in Céspedes for the walk off win and tying the series at one game apiece.^[19]

The A's scored six runs (five earned) off 2013 AL ERA leaderAníbal Sánchez. The first run was unearned, whenYoenis Céspedes hit a sharp grounder to third thatMiguel Cabrera mishandled for an error, allowingCoco Crisp to score from second. In the top of the fourth,Josh Reddick led off with a home run.Stephen Vogt followed with a triple, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Crisp, making the score 3–0. The Tigers tied the game offJarrod Parker in the bottom of the fourth, on an RBI double byVictor Martínez and a two-run single byJhonny Peralta. This ended a streak of 20 consecutive scoreless innings by A's pitchers. The A's quickly went back on top by three runs in the fifth, on a homer fromBrandon Moss and a two-run shot bySeth Smith. In the bottom of the ninth inning, A's pitcherGrant Balfour got into a heated argument with Detroit batter Víctor Martínez. The argument included a profane exchange between Martinez and Balfour, caught byMLB Network's on-field microphones, and caused the benches to empty. No injuries were reported and no ejections were made because of the incident, and Balfour went on to earn the save. Because MLB Network is a cable channel not underFCC purview, no action could be taken against them, though the game announcers apologized for the profanity shortly after.^[20]

The A's took another early lead on the Tigers, whenCoco Crisp led off the game with a triple offDoug Fister and scored on aJed Lowrie single. The A's extended the lead to 3–0 in the top of the fifth, when Lowrie hit a two-run homer to right field. It looked like the Tiger hitters, who had struggled to put up runs all series long, were on their way to another frustrating evening when starterDan Straily no-hit them through the first four innings. ButPrince Fielder led off the bottom of the fifth with a bloop single to left,Victor Martínez grounded a single to right, andJhonny Peralta followed with a three-run homer to left to tie the game. Tiger managerJim Leyland went to Game 1 starterMax Scherzer as a reliever in the top of the seventh, and Oakland promptly went up 4–3 when Coco Crisp drove inStephen Vogt with a single. On a controversial play, the Tigers managed to tie the game in the bottom of the inning, when Victor Martínez hit the ball to the right-center field wall and a fan reached into the field of play and disrupted its trajectory. The call on the field was a home run for Martínez. Umpires reviewed the play because the fan had clearly interfered with the path of the ball, but they let the home run stand after concluding that there was not enough video evidence to determine if right fielderJosh Reddick would have made a leaping catch. Later in the inning,Austin Jackson gave the Tigers a 5–4 lead on a broken-bat RBI single that scored pinch runnerAndy Dirks. Scherzer nearly gave the lead back when he loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the eighth, but he struck out Reddick and Vogt before getting pinch hitterAlberto Callaspo on a line out to center. The Tigers got three additional runs in the bottom of the inning, when pinch runnerHernán Pérez scored on a bases-loaded wild pitch byBrett Anderson, andOmar Infante followed with a two-run double to make the score 8–4. The A's made it interesting in the top of the ninth, getting the tying run to the plate after a two-run single byYoenis Céspedes, butJoaquín Benoit struck outSeth Smith to prevent any further damage.^[21]

Having usedMax Scherzer in relief during Game 4,Jim Leyland sent Game 2 starterJustin Verlander to the hill. A's managerBob Melvin also chose to go with his Game 2 starter,Sonny Gray, who had befuddled the Tigers for eight shutout innings earlier in the series. Gray looked solid again, surrendering only a walk through the first three innings.Torii Hunter got the Tigers' first hit in the fourth, a one-out single up the middle, then Gray made a mistake on an inside fastball toMiguel Cabrera that the slugger hit for a two-run homer to left. It was Cabrera's first extra-base hit of the series and only his second home run since August. The Tigers got a third run with one out in the sixth inning. With runners on first and third,Omar Infante hit a potential inning-ending double play ball to third off relieverDan Otero, butJosh Donaldson bounced his throw to second basemanAlberto Callaspo. Callaspo corralled the ball for a force out but had no chance to get Infante at first, andVictor Martínez scored on the play. Verlander, who threw a four-hit shutout in Game 5 of the2012 ALDS, also in Oakland, was brilliant again. He retired the first 16 Oakland batters before giving up a one-out walk toJosh Reddick in the sixth inning. He lost his no-hit bid with two outs in the seventh, whenYoenis Céspedes hit a hard single to center, but escaped the inning with no damage. Verlander would leave after eight shutout innings, surrendering two hits and one walk, while striking out ten. CloserJoaquín Benoit surrendered a two-out double toJed Lowrie and hit Céspedes with a pitch to bring the tying run to the plate for the second straight game. But he gotSeth Smith to fly out to short right field, ending the game and the series.

Verlander's effort gave him 30 straight scoreless innings against the A's in the playoffs, breaking the record for scoreless innings against one team in the postseason set byChristy Mathewson (28). The A's also struck out 57 times in the series, breaking the old record for a best-of-five playoff series of 55 strikeouts set by the2010Tampa Bay Rays. BothAustin Jackson of the Tigers andBrandon Moss of the A's fanned 13 times in the series, setting an ALDS record for an individual player.

The Tigers made it to the ALCS for the third straight season, becoming the first team to do so since the 1998–2001New York Yankees made four straight appearances. The Athletics have now lost their last six winner-take-all Game 5s, the last two at the hands of the Tigers (2012 and 2013). They are now 1–12 in playoff-clinching games since 2000, the only win coming in2006 when they swept theMinnesota Twins in the ALDS.^[22]

2013 ALDS(3–2):Detroit Tigers overOakland Athletics

• 2013 League Division Series Boston v Tampa Bay atBaseball Reference
• 2013 League Division Series Detroit v Oakland atBaseball Reference

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