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(SportsNetwork. Custom Los Angeles Kings Jerseys .com) - Detroit right-hander Justin Verlander endured one of the worst years of his career this past season. But on Thursday, Verlander can put a seasons worth of frustration behind him, as he takes the ball for the Tigers in the decisive fifth game of the American League Division Series against the Oakland Athletics. "Its not just another game," Verlander said. "The season is on the line. The whole season, the way we battled and played as a team, comes down to one game. May the best team win. You cant treat it like another game, you know. Its a little bit different. There is more to it. Its going to be fun. Its what you play the game for. Its exciting. This is what you dream of as a kid, to be on the mound in a clinching game." Of course, Verlander was in this exact same position last year and responded by striking out 11 in a four-hit shutout to propel the Tigers to the ALCS. He was equally as dominant against the As in Game 2 of this series, but did not get a decision, despite tossing seven scoreless innings in his teams 1-0 loss. Verlander, though, was 13-12 during the season and finished the year with his highest ERA (3.46), lowest strikeout rate (23.5 percent) and lowest innings total (218 1/3) since 2008 and battled through reduced velocity. However, the 2011 AL MVP and Cy Young Award winner started to show signs of the pitcher he has been down the stretch and pitched to a 2.27 ERA in his final six starts of the regular season. "I think its just some of the adjustments I made, one of the maybe a thousand that I tried to make this year," he said. "It was definitely a grind all year. Then it reached a point where I realized it was going to take awhile, that it wasnt going to be one thing I had to fix." Oakland, meanwhile, has relied on a lot of young arms this season. If they want to play another game theyll need to lean on another, as for the seventh time in their last 10 postseason games the As will hand the ball to a rookie hurler. Sonny Gray takes the ball as he did in Game 2 versus Verlander and the Tigers and will try to duplicate that performance which saw him strike out nine batters over eight scoreless innings. A 23-year-old righty, Gray has just 11 big league starts under his belt. Yet, Oakland manager Bob Melvin chose him rather than 40-year-old Bartolo Colon, who won 18 games this season and was second in the AL with a 2.65 ERA. "Obviously, we had two great options there with Bartolo," As manager Bob Melvin said during a late-afternoon conference call Wednesday. "We looked at it at a bunch of different angles. We have a lot of smart people in our front office and in our baseball operations and the short of it is it came down to Sonny and the last game he pitched in similar conditions in our ballpark. So thats the route were going to go." Including the Game 2 assignment, Gray pitched to a 1.66 ERA in seven home starts. Hes also struck out 47 batters over 48 2/3 innings of those outings. "Hes got a power arm and lot of talent, but its hard to know -- like in Game 2 -- how a young guy is going to react," As shortstop Jed Lowrie said about Gray. "But he went out there with all the confidence in the world and performed pretty well." Detroit staved off elimination on Tuesday, as it rallied twice and held on to beat the Athletics, 8-6. Victor Martinez homered in the win, while Game 1 winner Max Scherzer, who relieved starter Doug Fister in the seventh, escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the eighth with two strikeouts and a line drive for the Tigers, who are trying to get back to the ALCS for the second straight year. "To be able to get out of that jam, I mean, thats something Ill never forget," said Scherzer. "Thats something Im not really asked to do, and tonight I was." Lowrie hit a two-run homer and knocked in Oaklands first three runs as the As built a 3-0 lead through the first 4 1/2 innings. Oakland will be trying to buck a trend of Game 5 failures on Thursday. The As have lost all five Game 5s they have played in the ALDS and are a miserable 1-11 in potential clinching games since losing the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds back in 1990. Detroit, which lost four of seven games against the As during the season, has beaten Oakland the last two times these teams have met in the postseason. The As only win against the Tigers in the playoffs came in the 1972 ALCS, which started a run of three consecutive world titles for Oakland. The winner of tonights contest will play Game 1 of the ALCS in Boston on Saturday. Custom Colorado Avalanche Jerseys . Pospisil, whose season-ending goal is to improve his ATP Tour ranking enough to qualify for one of the 32 seedings at Januarys Australian Open, dominated Karlovic in 59 minutes. The world No. 40 never faced a break point and limited the big mans threatening ace count to a mere eight, while striking five key aces of his own. Custom Chicago Blackhawks Jerseys .com) - Marian Gaborik scored his sixth goal in the last four games to help the Los Angeles Kings top the Arizona Coyotes, 4-2, Saturday at Staples Center. https://www.cheapcustomjerseysonline.com/custom-anaheim-ducks-jerseys/ .com) - Many people at Eastern Washington are waiting to see if star quarterback Vernon Adams Jr.TORONTO – The Blue Jays recent stretch of winning baseball has fans thinking of the possibilities, dreaming big, about the summer – perhaps the autumn – thats to come. It was difficult, watching Royals ace and long-time Toronto tormentor James Shields work on Thursday night, not to consider how good he would look as a front-end of the rotation rental for the playoff push about which the organization, its players and its supporters has long dreamed. Using a July acquisition of Shields as a hypothetical example, nothing more, the Blue Jays would have to take on the pro-rated portion of his $13.5-million. If the club, say, was to acquire Shields on July 31, it would be on the hook for approximately $4.5-million. What isnt clear is whether the money would be available. "We have a number that we work with and I always have the ability to have that conversation," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "We came into the season at the number we expected to be at and as the year goes on, we have needs. Depending on how were playing and whats available, if we have a need come the trade deadline, I have every confidence well have the resources to do that. I have no doubts about that at all." Shields is exactly what Toronto needs. He has an expiring contract and would test the free agency waters for the first time in his career this winter. He has won at least 11 games in seven-straight seasons and pitched no fewer than 203 1/3 innings in each year of that span. Hes pitched in the playoffs three times, for the Rays each year from 2008 to 2010 and is notorious for his work ethic. Ownership stepping up in response to a group of players that have given the city its first tangible hope of watching a Major League Baseball playoff game live for the first time in more than two decades surely wouldnt go unnoticed in the clubhouse, either. This run of nine consecutive wins and 17 in 22 games has helped in more than just the standings. On some occasions, the home run has been the difference. On others, speed and defence. The starting pitching and vastly improved bullpen have been major contributors. Put together, it has created belief in a clubhouse a year removed from stunning disapppointment. Custom San Diego Padres Jerseys. "Its just being a complete baseball team," pitcher Drew Hutchison told TSN.ca. "We can do the little things. You can do everything. You can beat them with speed. We saw that so much with Reyes scoring from second. Youve got a guy like Gose putting down bunts and making diving catches. Youve got the power of Eddie and Francisco and Bautista. There are so many ways, the way this team is, we can beat you." According to baseball-reference.com, the Blue Jays have $134.4-million committed to player payroll for 2014. Earlier this season, Fox Sports Ken Rosenthal reported that a group of high-salaried Blue Jays had agreed to defer salary in order to allow for the club to sign then-free agent pitcher Ervin Santana. When the deal fell through, Santana signed with the Braves, the National Posts John Lott reported that five players – Mark Buehrle, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Reyes and R.A. Dickey – had pooled together $14-million in the failed bid to bring Santana aboard. Last week, Peter Gammons reported on his website, gammonsdaily.com, quoted Anthopoulos suggesting the payroll was maxed out. One would infer there isnt much wiggle room for a payroll increase; that a dollar in, dollar out scenario would be most likely in any deal. "Were at a number to start the year. I think thats fair. I dont think it varies from anything weve ever said. Its always fluid," said Anthopoulos. "Even when we did the deals last year, we were supposed to be in an area and then something came up." With the annual June draft set to begin next Thursday night, trade talk is virtually non-existent. Consider, too, that with the two wild card system in each league there arent many teams that believe themselves to be completely out of contention at the moment. "We are having no dialogue whatsoever," said Anthopoulos. "If there is any (rumours) out there that were engaged with players, were not having any active talks at all. Were really immersed in the draft right now. I expect that when that draft is over, the Monday after, thats when everyone is going to start making their calls again." ' ' '