Athletics walk off with victory after duel

> ATHLETICS 1 > TIGERS 0 SERIES TIED 1-1

OAKLAND, CALIF.— Stephen Vogt lined an RBI single in the ninth inning after rookie Sonny Gray matched zeros with Justin Verlander in a sensational playoff debut that helped the Oakland Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers 1-0 on Saturday night, tying their AL division series at a game apiece.

Yoenis Cespedes and Seth Smith hit back-to-back singles against loser Al Alburquerque to start the winning rally, then Josh Reddick was intentionally walked before Rick Porcello entered to face Vogt.

The AL West champion A’s had eight walk-off wins during the regular season, then did it again at the perfect time on baseball’s October stage.

Grant Balfour pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for the win.

Game 3 is Monday afternoon in Detroit.

Verlander beat the A’s in Games 1 and 5 of their post-season series last October.

Friday night’s series opener also featured stellar pitching. Given the ball from manager Jim Leyland ahead of Verlander, Detroit’s Max Scherzer struck out 11 and dazzled with an array of effective pitches as the Tigers won 3-2.

“It was the same as always. I don’t get caught up in the hoopla, worry about where I’m pitching or if I’m pitching Game 1 or Game 5,” Scherzer said. “When you’re pitching against a post-season team like the A’s, you have to bring your game. And tonight I was able to pitch effectively . . . against their left-handed hitters.”

Scherzer overpowered the A’s with his blazing fastball, then baffled them with his off-speed stuff. The A’s struck out 16 times in all, a franchise record for a post-season game.