The Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics both had scoring opportunities in the fifth but failed to score, leaving the game scoreless through six innings.
Tigers vs. Athletics score update: Pitchers’ duel continues in 0-0 affair
Verlander and Gray continue to deal, but both managers have hurt their offense with some questionable decisions.
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The Tigers threatened to put the first runs on the board in the top of the fifth. Omar Infante led off the inning with a walk, advancing to second on a Don Kelly groundout. Jose Iglesias reached on an infield single, putting runners on the corners with one out.
Sonny Gray responded with a big strikeout against Austin Jackson, and Iglesias attempted to steal second base on the play. Stephen Vogt gunned down Iglesias, ending the frame with a double play.
Yoenis Cespedes and Seth Smith led off the bottom of the fifth with back-to-back singles, giving the Athletics their first runner in scoring position all game. Josh Reddick attempted to move the runners over with a sacrifice bunt, but ended up popping out to Miguel Cabrera for the first out of the frame. That proved to be all the help Justin Verlander would need, as he struck out the final two batters of the inning to advance to the sixth.
Gray faced the heart of the Detroit order in the sixth, but went three-up, three-down to keep the game tied. Verlander tossed a perfect sixth of his own, recording his 10th strikeout of the night against Josh Donaldson.
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