Oakland, Calif. – This is wine country. And the Tigers were going to need a splash – or more – after enduring Saturday’s torture at Oakland Coliseum.
Their bullpen disintegrated in the late innings, turning a 3-3 game into a 12-3 A’s massacre of Detroit.
Warwick Saupold gave up five runs in the sixth, Alex Wilson was socked for four more in the seventh, and that was it as the A’s threw together a 17-hit onslaught that evened the weekend series and left the Tigers with a 24-24 record heading into Sunday’s rematch.
“Just an off-day for the bullpen,” said Tigers manager Brad Ausmus, who returned to work after missing games due to the death of his mother, and his daughter’s high school graduation.