Oakland @ Detroit preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 7, 2013 ) Oakland 6, Detroit 3

The Oakland Athletics are shutting down the Detroit Tigers offense by keeping the ball in the park. The Athletics will look to keep the Tigers homer-free for a fourth straight game and close out the best-of-five American League Division Series when they visit Detroit for Game 4 on Tuesday. The Tigers snapped a 20-inning scoreless drought in the fourth inning of Game 3, but could not keep Oakland off the board in a 6-3 setback.

Detroit finished second in the majors in scoring and seventh in home runs during the regular season, but did not have a blast and totaled six runs in the first three games of the ALDS. Those six runs came in the first inning of Game 1 and the fourth inning of Game 3, leaving the Tigers scoreless in the other 25 frames. The Athletics were having nearly as much trouble with the bats until Game 3, when Josh Reddick, Brandon Moss and Seth Smith homered.

TV: 5:07 p.m. ET, TBS

PITCHING MATCHUP: Athletics RH Dan Straily (10-8, 3.96 ERA) vs. Tigers RH Doug Fister (14-9, 3.67)

Straily was not going to be a part of the ALDS rotation until A.J. Griffin came up with tendinitis in his pitching elbow in the last weekend of the regular season. The 24-year-old has not pitched since Sept. 25 but closed out the regular season strong with a 3-1 record and a 2.10 ERA in five September starts. The California native allowed one run on eight hits over six innings to earn a win at Detroit on Aug. 28.

Fister struggled through some inconsistency in the second half but finished up solid with a win in his last start at Minnesota on Sept. 24. The 29-year-old endured his worst start of 2013 against Oakland on Aug. 28, when he was lit up for a season-high seven earned runs on 13 hits in five innings. Fister went seven strong innings against the Athletics in the 2012 ALDS and is 2-2 with a 2.97 ERA in six career postseason games.

WALK-OFFS

1. The No. 2 and No. 3 hitters in the Athletics lineup (Jed Lowrie and Josh Donaldson) are a combined 2-for-24 with 10 strikeouts.

2. Tigers 3B Miguel Cabrera (abdomen/groin) has been held to three singles in the series and is without an extra-base hit in 12 straight games going back to the regular season.

3. Oakland closer Grant Balfour exchanged words with Detroit DH Victor Martinez in the ninth inning Monday, leading to a brief benches-clearing situation before order was restored.

PREDICTION: Tigers 5, Athletics 3