2012 ALDS: Tigers win Game 2 on walkoff sacrifice fly

After watching a full 24 hours of baseball since Friday morning, it turns out the first thing I’m inspired to write about is a dude licking a baseball on the field. Alright, alright.

At least it came in the best game of the weekend, which was Game 2 of the ALCS between the Tigers and A’s. That was the only game over the weekend that was close and had multiple lead changes -- there wasn’t anything like a dominant Justin Verlander, an entire Giants team soiling themselves, Joe Saunders demoralizing the Rangers, or a field full of projectiles. It was a classic game, with heroes and goats.

Two runs scored on the error, and the Tigers took an improbable 3-2 lead into the eighth. But that’s when Yoenis Cespedes took over. After a single to center, Yoenis reminded everyone of the YouTube video that put him on the map in the first place. Imagine following the game on GameDay and seeing this:

Kelly is something of a one-tool player, but that tool is “not being Delmon Young,” and he lofted a fly ball into medium-deep right-center, more than enough to score the winning run from third.

With runners on the corners in the ninth inning, Tigers righthander Al Alburquerque entered the game to face Yoenis Cespedes and end the rally. He did so, when the baseball was grounded right back to him. Here’s Alburquerque showing his gratitude:

That’s one way to make the baseball blush.

How about Cliff Pennington? After a season with just a .589 OPS, the A’s second baseman narrowly missed hitting the foul pole by inches, then laid off some close pitches, settling for a one-out walk.

Danny Worth, in at shortstop after pinch-running for Peralta, made a neat ranging play to retire the lead runner, likely leaving several Detroit fans confused that shortstops could do that. Stephen Drew shot a liner to right field to move the runners to the corners.

Holy turnaround.

Not long after the Tigers took a 3-2 lead with a couple of gift runs -- thanks to Coco Crisp’s error in center field, in the bottom of the seventh -- the A’s stormed back in the top of the eighth with two runs of their own.

After five innings, this was looking like a pitcher’s game.

And so perhaps this is the right time to mention that neither the Tigers nor the A’s were exactly hitting powerhouses this season. The Tigers finished sixth in the league in scoring, the Athletics eighth.

Looking for more runs? Look away from the fourth inning. It’s still tied 1-1.

Josh Donaldson walked, Seth Smith shattered a bat popping out (a waste of lumber, it seems), George Kottaras fanned on another strike out and Cliff Pennington grounded out to end the inning, all while sliding head-first into the bag. If you needed proof the A’s aren’t preaching on-base percentage anymore, there it is.

You’d have to be a fool to think this is the kind of game that would go quickly. The A’s put a gaggle of runners on base in the top of the third inning, and they scored a run to go up 1-0. But that’s all they scored -- a bittersweet outcome considering how the inning played out.

Cliff Pennington singled to open the inning, looping a soft liner to Andy Dirks, who has sweet hair. Coco Crisp then hit a chopper to Miguel Cabrera, who charged with the grace of of Reggie Jackson trying to kill the Queen, and threw wide, pulling Prince Fielder off the bag at first.

I’m starting this with one out in the ... with two outs in the top of the second. If these calculations are right, it will be the bottom of the seventh by the time I’m done. Here goes.

Doug Fister doesn’t walk people. Tom Milone doesn’t walk people. Fister works quickly. Milone works quickly. This game is going to last an hour.