WARMING UP: Triple Crown slugger Miguel Cabrera works out yesterday as the Tigers prepare for today’s Game 3 of the ALCS vs. the Athletics in Oakland. The Tigers hold a 2-0 lead. (AP)
OAKLAND — The Athletics are baseball’s grunge band: raw, pure noise. If they don’t like something, they will let you know. They believe they have the baseball gods behind them tonight at O.Co Coliseum as they try to avoid being swept out of the ALDS by the Tigers.
“This series ain’t over,’’ closer Grant Balfour promised yesterday. “We’ve overcome a lot this year.’’
The A’s are in a 2-0 hole and believe Tigers reliever Al Alburquerque showed them up in the 5-4 loss at Comerica Park on Sunday by kissing the baseball before throwing out Yoenis Cespedes at first in the ninth inning.
“That was pretty bizarre,” Oakland reliever Travis Blackley said of the incident. “If he had anything between his ears, he wouldn’t have done it. The only way to get him back is that when he gets on the mound again and we stick it to him. I know he’s just put a target on his back when he gets out there.
“And, if anyone you don’t want to have a target on, it’s probably us. You can celebrate after getting an out, a fist pump, but that’s just taunting. … He’s not [Justin] Verlander, especially when he is just flipping sliders in there.’’
Added Balfour: “I wouldn’t kiss a ball. Maybe he’s got a baseball fetish.’’
“He doesn’t believe in baseball gods, but I do,’’ Jonny Gomes said.
“Where we are right now,’’ Gomes said of the A’s plight, “it’s the same grease we’ve been using all year, but just a different pan. The baseball gods are on our side, so far, but they’re really testing us. Whoever made this season 162 games was an A’s fan because we needed them all.’’
And now they need to win three straight at home to advance to the ALCS.
The A’s have been here before.
“I think we’ve had four or five season-ending losses throughout the year, where everyone [else] threw in the towel,’’ Gomes said. “The most recent was the extra-inning one in New York. ‘How do you come back from this? This is just devastating.’ Well, we won the next day.’’
Then he listed what the A’s have been through this season.
“Our heart and our soul, Kurt Suzuki, got traded,” Gomes said, “one of our ace pitchers, Brandon McCarthy, was in the hospital and had brain surgery, our other guy, Bartolo Colon, tested positive for steroids, our starting third baseman [Scott Sizemore] blew his knee out in the first game of spring training. Some dude kissing a ball in between the lines isn’t going to bum us out at all. But you can tell he doesn’t believe in baseball gods. I believe in baseball gods. Baseball gods take care of that kind of stuff.’’
Brett Anderson (4-2, 2.57 ERA) will go for the A’s against Anibal Sanchez (4-6, 3.74).
Oakland right fielder Josh Reddick said the A’s will remain bold.
“We have a great amount of confidence,’’ he said. “We’ve swept New York, we’ve swept Texas, we’ve swept Boston, so we are not going to change the mindset with the Tigers in here.’’
Brandon Inge was teammates with Alburquerque in Detroit.
“He’s unique,” Inge said. “I’m sure he’s going to regret it. I did a double-take when I saw it. For us in here our ultimate retaliation would be to win three.’’
Unique Al said he has no regrets about the kiss even though his teammates and manager were not happy with it.
“I don’t think I did something bad to the hitter,’’ he said. “I was excited about the game; it was my first big out. I don’t understand why they are upset.’’
Tigers manager Jim Leyland said Alburquerque had no bad intentions by the kiss, but …
“I don’t think it was the right thing to do,” Leyland said. “It wasn’t a smart thing to do, but I can honestly tell you that there was no way Alburquerque or any members of the Detroit Tigers would ever do anything intentionally to offend another team.’’
Still, the A’s are ready to make some noise.