Doug Fister Hurls Tigers Past Rangers in ALCS Game 3

After dropping the first two games of the American League Championship Series in Arlington, the banged-up Detroit Tigers absolutely had to win Game 3, and Doug Fister gave them a chance to do that. It wasn't exactly a must-win situation, but only the Boston Red Sox have come back from a 3-0 deficit to force a Game 7. They managed to win the 2004 World Series that year, but it's not the recommended way of doing things.

The right-hander with a bad case of hat-head was about as cool as the other side of the pillow in the huge Game 3, pitching 7.1 solid innings Tuesday night where he allowed just two runs on seven hits to aid in his team's 5-2 victory over the Texas Rangers. Fister loves pitching at Comerica Park. He's an incredible 5-0 with an 1.23 ERA at home... pretty much unhittable.

Meanwhile, Rangers starter Colby Lewis suffered his very first postseason loss after entering the game with a career 4-0 record and 1.67 ERA in the playoffs. It was a good run.

Josh Hamilton drove in a first inning run to give Texas an early lead, but the Tigers tied it up on a Victor Martinez lead-off solo shot in the bottom of the fourth. The following inning, Miguel Cabrera said "Hold your horses, Rangers," when he hit an RBI double to the right field corner to give Detroit a 2-1 edge.

Jhonny Peralta nailed one into the Tigers bullpen in the sixth before Austin Jackson, who had three hits in the game after going 3-for-25 with 14 strikeouts over the first seven postseason contests, blooped a run-scoring single to center. Cabrera, who struggled through the first few innings, crushed a longball to left in the seventh to make it 5-1.

Nelson Cruz Does it Again, First Ever Walkoff Grand Slam in Postseason History

Are you joking me Nelson Cruz?

Just two innings after it appeared his wrist was shattered into a million pieces by a 92-mph Jose Valverde fastball in the ninth, the Texas Rangers outfielder took advantage of a second consecutive Ryan Perry slider to give his team a 2-0 advantage in the best-of-seven ALCS with a 7-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers in 11 innings.

What's more amazing than that? Not only did he go yard to tie it up at 3 runs-a piece in the seventh inning and kick opposing starter Max Scherzer off the hill, but his extra-inning, walkoff grand slam marked the first in the history of ever.

To clarify, it's only technically the first walkoff grand slam in MLB playoff history. Back in 1993, Robin Ventura hit one during the 1999 NLCS for the Mets, but he was so busy celebrating the victory, he failed to touch home plate and was credited with a Grand Slam Single. In his defense, however, his stupid teammates carried him off the field before he had a chance to score. (Details, Schmetails.) God, we went from talking about Ventura pretty much never to mentioning him like three times in a week. I'm sure we'll have a lot more to make fun of him for to talk about regarding his White Sox managing adventure in 2012.

Detroit Tigers Finally Win the American League Central

Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The Simpsons cartoon first appears as a series of shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show.

Michael Jackson releases his hit album Bad.

The year was 1987 and it was the last time the Detroit Tigers enjoyed a division title... some of you weren't even born yet.

Doug Fister Fans 13, Tigers Extend AL Central Lead

While Doug Fister struck out a career-high 13 batters Monday, the Detroit Tigers topped the Cleveland Indians 4-2 to extended their American League Central lead to 7 1/2 games.

The right-hander served up one earned run on four hits over eight solid innings to help complete the sweep to drive a huge wedge between the two teams and five the Indians their largest deficit of the season. Clearly, all the guy needed was a change of scenery, improving to 4-1 over seven starts since being acquired from the Seattle Mariners back in July.

The Tribe has been cursed by injury all year long, leading its division from April 8 until June 14, when the Tigers got hot. Cleveland took the lead again once, but has trailed Detroit since July 22. However, they'll play 11 of their next 14 games on the road, so we'll see how that goes for them. Any predictions for the AL Central?

[The Detroit News]