The last time the Oakland Athletics were in the postseason they walked off the field as the Detroit Tigers celebrated the American League Pennant back in 2006. While that did leave a nasty taste in the mouths of those A’s players, this team is completely different....The only remaining holdover from 2006 is general manager Billy Beane.

Oakland shocked the baseball world by overcoming a 13-game deficit to strip the Texas Rangers of the AL West Title on the last day of the regular season. Meanwhile, Detroit seemingly backed into the postseason, relying a great deal on a meltdown by the division-rival Chicago White Sox.

Let’s take a look at tonight’s Game 1 matchup between Detroit and Oakland, taking a look at each starting pitcher. 

As with most young starting pitchers, Parker performs much better at home than on the road. This is only magnified by the fact that the A's player in a pitcher-friendly ballpark. That being said, Oakland has won eight of his last 10 starts on the road. Parker pitched extremely well down the stretch, going a combined 4-1 with a 2.63 ERA in September and October. He is one of the major reasons that Oakland is in the position they're in right now. 

You can definitely expect a solid out from Parker, who has some of the nastiest stuff for any young pitcher in the American League. His four-seem fastball can get up to 95 MPH, and has some solid movement on it. Look for Detroit to try to get him out of his comfort zone early by remaining patient at the plate. Parker, as a young pitcher, can get flustered at times. Against, this is magnified by the fact that this is his first MLB Postseason Game and it taking place on the road. 

Verlander has been the most consistently good starting pitcher in the American Legue over the course of the last four season. He led the AL in both innings pitched and strikeout this season and is a strong competitor of the Cy Young Award. The veteran has been even more dominating at home, winning nine of his 11 decisions and boasting an ERA under two. 

While Oakland has hit the most homers since the All-Star Break, they don't bat for average and can get stifled by dominating starting pitching. Look for another elite performance for Verlander this evening. 

With that in mind, the A's did force Verlander to throw 122 pitches in just six innings in a September start, a game Detroit won by the final score of 15-8. They are definitely going to look to work the clock, getting Verlander out of the game is their only chance at victory tonight. 

Important Players

Yoenis Cespedes (Oakland): .292/.356/.505 Split, 23 HR, 82 RBI, 25 Doubles, 16 SB

If it wasn't for Mike Trout, there is no doubt in my mind that this Cuban prodigy would take home the AL Rookie of the Year Award. Despite missing 33 games due to injury, Cespedes was a five-tool standout for Oakland in his first season in the states. His mere presence in the lineup makes this lineup that much more dangerous. 

Cespedes recorded two his in three at-bats against Verlander this season. While that isn't a significant sample size, anyone with some sort of success against the former Cy Young Award Winner is pretty damn rare. More importantly, Cespedes hit more homers and tallied more RBI's on the road than he did at home. Those numbers might be misleading considering that he batted 51-points worst on the road than he did at "The O." 

Josh Reddick (Oakland): .242/.305/.462, 32 HR, 85 RBI, 29 Doubles, 11 SB

Anyone that expected Reddick to put up the numbers that he did in his first full MLB season was fooling themselves. He led the A's in RBI's and came through a great deal when it counted the most. Despite this success, Reddick struggled in September and October to the tune of a .164/.214/.295 clip over 25 games.

Reddick had just two hits in 10 at-bats against Verlander this season and he only hit .238 on the road this season. Reddick nees to step up big time in this series. 

Miguel Cabrera (Detroit): .330/.393/.606, 44 HR, 139 RBI, 40 Doubles, 4 SB

Well, we finally have an American League Triple-Crown Award Winner, congratulations to Miggy for that tremendous feat. He is, of course, a huge cog in the middle of Detroit's lineup and will play a huge role in their ability to has success against an elite Oakland pitching staff. 

Not many hitters had success against Oakland pitchers this season, but as was the case against every team, Miggy was ridiculous against the A's. In fact, his best performances in a career-year came against this team. Cabrera tallied a .483/.515/.862 clip while recording three homers and 14 RBIs in just seven games against the A's this season. Just crazy!

Prince Fielder (Detroit): .313/.412/.528, 30 HR, 108 RBI, 33 Doubles, 1 SB

While Fielder didn't nearly match some of his biggest seasons that he had with the Milwaukee Brewers in his first season with the Tigers, he was a damn good player. He batted 14-points higher than any other season of his career. Look for Oakland to pitch to Fielder with the anticipation that they are going to take it careful with the aforementioned Miggy. 

Fielder was a downright disaster against Oakland this season. He hit .074 in seven games and compiled a total of two hits. That needs to change. 

Game 1 Prediction: Detroit Tigers