Tigers' Max Scherzer shows super stuff in ALDS opener victory

OAKLAND, Calif. -- It doesn't matter all that much to Max Scherzer when or where he pitches, or exactly how he goes about piling up his wins.

Pitching the opener of the playoffs still meant plenty -- and his spectacular Game 1 performance provided quite an October jolt for the Detroit Tigers as they chase a return trip to the World Series.

Given the ball by manager Jim Leyland ahead of Justin Verlander, Scherzer struck out 11 and dazzled with an array of effective pitches as the Tigers grabbed the lead in their AL Division Series against the Oakland Athletics with a 3-2 win Friday night.

"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 postseason team like the A's, you have to bring your game. And tonight I was able to pitch effectively and pitch well against their lefthanded hitters, and that's the reason why I had success tonight." A lot of it, in fact.

Verlander went last night against 23-year-old rookie Sonny Gray, making only his 11th career start. Verlander, who beat the A's in Games 1 and 5 of their postseason series last October, allowed four hits and a walk in seven innings last night, striking out 11. Gray gave up four hits and two walks in eight innings, striking out nine. The game was scoreless going into the bottom of the ninth.

Yoenis Cespedes was the only A's player to have success against Scherzer, who retired 16 of the first 18 batters he faced. Cespedes hit a two-run homer and also had a second-inning triple but was stranded.

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 in a postseason game.

"He was awful determined," Leyland said. "He was thrilled to get Game 1. I think it meant a lot to him, even though he said it didn't matter which game he pitched. And I think he responded like we expected him to respond."

Scherzer was nearly untouchable before Cespedes hit a two-run drive in the seventh for his first career playoff homer.

Scherzer received a league-best 6.80 runs of support per nine innings over his 32 starts this season, but he didn't need anything more than the Tigers' three first-inning runs in shutting down the AL West champions.

The majors' lone 20-game winner, Scherzer (21-3) allowed three hits and walked two.

"He's always tough. He won 21 games," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "Scherzer's a strikeout guy. He's a swing-and-miss guy."