Brandon Moss, Josh Reddick and Seth Smith homered for the Oakland Athletics, who chased Anibal Sanchez in the fifth inning Monday and defeated the Tigers 6-3 for a 2-1 AL Division Series lead.
Moss broke a 3-all tie in the fifth with a solo shot, and Smith’s two-run drive later in the inning ended Sanchez’s day.
The A’s can close out the series Tuesday and reach the AL Championship Series for the first time since 2006 — when they were swept by the Tigers. Oakland will send rookie Dan Straily to the mound against Detroit’s Doug Fister.
Oakland has four home runs in this series and the Tigers have zero, after finishing the regular season with 186 of them, third most in the Majors.
“That’s the logic with our team,” said Josh Reddick, who hit the other homer. “We’re going to strike out and we’re going to hit the long ball, so once we get those going, it’s going to be a good day. And to do it against a guy like Sanchez, who’s been great all year, it does a lot for your confidence coming into tomorrow.”
