Did you know? ALDS Game 5: DET 3, OAK 0
A look at some notable facts and figures from the Detroit Tigers' 3-0 win over the Oakland Athletics in Game 5 of the American League Division Series at O.co Coliseum on Thursday.
• The Athletics are 0-6 all-time in ALDS Game 5s and 1-12 in potential clinching games dating back to the 1990 World Series. The last time the A's won a winner-take-all game was in the 1973 World Series against the Mets.
• Detroit became the first team to advance to three straight AL Championship Series since the 1998-2001 Yankees.
• Justin Verlander has thrown 30 consecutive scoreless innings in the postseason against the Athletics, a record for a pitcher versus one team, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. It's the longest postseason scoreless streak for a starter against any a team in Major League history, outlasting New York Giants righty Christy Mathewson's 28 innings against the Philadelphia A's from 1905-11.
• Verlander defeated the A's in Game 5 of the ALDS for the second straight season and became one of the four starters in Major League history to have multiple wins in winner-take-all postseason games, joining Bob Gibson, Chris Carpenter and Matt Cain.
• Verlander is the second pitcher in Major League history with 10 or more strikeouts and zero runs allowed in back-to-back postseason games. According to Elias, the other pitcher was Los Angeles Dodgers lefty Sandy Koufax in the 1965 World Series (Games 5 and 7) against the Minnesota Twins.
• Verlander is the first pitcher in Major League history to allow two hits or fewer in at least eight innings in a winner-take-all postseason game.
• Miguel Cabrera hit his first home run since Sept. 17, spanning 52 at-bats.
• Cabrera has reached base safely in all of his 29 postseason games he's played with the Tigers, a Major League record.
• Cabrera's 21 postseason RBIs with the Tigers are one shy of the team record, held by Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg.
• The A's struck out 57 times in the series, setting an LDS record.
• Yoenis Cespedes' single broke up Verlander's no-hit bid after 6 2/3 innings.
• Cespedes has a hit in each of his 10 career postseason games. It's the third-longest streak in Athletics postseason history (best: Rickey Henderson, 15 games).
• Sonny Gray suffered his first career postseason loss. It was the seventh time in the A's last 10 postseason games they had started a rookie pitcher.