but my players did a good job

[jinshuiqian0713]

DETROIT -- On a night of desperation, dispute and finally, delirium, Max Scherzer and the Detroit Tigers kept their season alive by the slimmest of margins. A tying home run, helped along by a couple of fans in right field. A full-count pitch with the bases loaded that was low and inside but became strike three when the batter swung. A line drive down the line with the bases still full -- foul by a few feet. During a relief outing to remember, Scherzer escaped a major jam one inning after two fans reached out to try to reel in Victor Martinezs disputed home run, and the Tigers rallied past the Oakland Athletics 8-6 on Tuesday to force a decisive fifth game in their AL division series. Scherzer was in line to start Game 5, but the 21-game winner came on Tuesday instead for his first relief appearance since the 2011 post-season. He wriggled out of a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the eighth inning and got the win. "We took our best shot and we had to because we were behind the 8-ball a little bit," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "We took that shot and, hey, both teams are going to have a good pitcher going two days from now." After avoiding elimination, the Tigers can now send Justin Verlander to the mound Thursday night in Oakland. Verlander shut out the As at the Coliseum in Game 5 of the division series last year. Oakland hasnt announced a starter for Thursday. It is Bartolo Colons turn in the post-season rotation, but rookie Sonny Gray could also come back on normal rest after a brilliant performance in Game 2. "We havent decided anything yet," manager Bob Melvin said. Playing catch-up most of the way in Game 4, the Tigers tied it first with Jhonny Peraltas three-run homer in the fifth and then on Martinezs solo shot in the seventh. A couple of fans attempted to catch Martinezs drive, and at least one of them bobbled the ball as he reached over the railing above the wall. That prevented right fielder Josh Reddick from having any chance at a leaping grab. Reddick and centre fielder Coco Crisp immediately protested, pointing up at the stands in the hope of a fan-interference call. But umpires upheld the home run after a replay review. "I have no doubt I was going to catch that ball. When I looked at the replay, thats what I thought," Reddick said. "Its totally frustrating that a fan can influence the game." Gary Darling, the crew chief, was umpiring in right field. He disagreed, even after the replay. "It was clear he was not going to catch the ball, so it was clearly going to be a home run," Darling said. "There wasnt any other evidence on replay to turn it another way." Scherzer came out of the bullpen in the seventh and gave up a run, then ran into trouble again in the eighth. With the Tigers ahead 5-4, he allowed a walk and a double to start the inning. But after an intentional walk to load the bases, Leyland left his ace on the mound. Scherzer struck out Reddick, who swung and missed at what would have been ball four on a low, inside pitch. Stephen Vogt struck out too, but pinch-hitter Alberto Callaspos line drive to left nearly fell in before landing foul. Callaspo eventually lined out to centre. "It was surreal," said Scherzer, the winning pitcher in both Detroit victories this series. "Maybe its not the ninth inning, but thats the stuff you dream about pitching -- bases loaded, eighth inning, no outs, and I was able to do it." Detroit, held hitless through four innings in a game of twists and turns, added three runs in the eighth on a wild pitch and a two-run double by Omar Infante that made it 8-4. Yoenis Cespedes hit a two-run single in the ninth, bringing the potential tying run to the plate, but Joaquin Benoit struck out Seth Smith to end it. Crisp had four hits and three runs for the As, who led 3-0 and 4-3 but couldnt close out the defending American League champions. The Oakland bullpen hadnt allowed a run all series until Tuesday. After Crisp put the As ahead 4-3 with an RBI single off Scherzer in the seventh, Martinez lifted a fly to right against reliever Sean Doolittle. It would have been an extremely difficult catch for Reddick, and it looked as though the ball might have cleared the wall even without the fans involvement. It was certainly an anxious wait while umpires reviewed the play, which brought back memories of Derek Jeters fan-aided homer against Baltimore in the 1996 AL championship series at Yankee Stadium. Peralta followed with a double, and Austin Jackson -- who was 1 for 14 with 10 strikeouts in the series to that point -- managed a broken-bat single to put the Tigers ahead 5-4. It appeared Detroit was in big trouble in the eighth, but Scherzer was able to protect the one-run lead, and the Tigers eventually added to it. Detroit starter Doug Fister allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings before being relieved by Scherzer, who came back on three days rest after his victory in Game 1. Oakland took the series lead with a win in Game 3, and Crisps leadoff triple Tuesday put the Tigers on their heels again. Detroit brought the infield in -- a sign that even one run could be vital -- and Crisp scored on Jed Lowries one-out single, putting immediate pressure on the Tigers slumbering offence. It appeared the Athletics were on their way to the ALCS when Lowries two-run homer in the fifth gave Oakland a three-run lead. With slugger Miguel Cabrera still hobbled by injuries, As rookie Dan Straily held the Tigers hitless until the fifth. But after a bloop single by Prince Fielder, Martinez grounded a base hit to right. Peralta, who moved from shortstop to left field after returning from his late-season drug suspension, lined one over the wall in left, finally bringing the Comerica Park fans to life. NOTES: Cabrera hit a sixth-inning single. Hes reached base safely in all 28 of his post-season games with the Tigers. ... Detroit had gone seven games without a homer. ... Peraltas homer was the first extra-base hit allowed by Straily since Sept. 7, according to STATS. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . Particularly when speaking in the stadium of Tuesdays opponent: Manchester City. "Maybe they dont fear us as before," Pique said on Monday, "because in the last two years we didnt win the Champions League. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . As analysts we do the same thing, so here are some observations from week one. First there were two major upsets. I should say, major upsets in the eyes of the fans and prognosticators. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку!. - Urijah Faber walked out on a Madison Square Garden stage in a Wes Welker jersey, the UFCs fun nod to that other "super" show this weekend. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! .And although FIFAs investigators are preparing to release the findings of a World Cup corruption probe, Hassan Al Thawadi dismissed any chance of Qatar losing the showpiece event. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . Louis second-period goal increased the New York Rangers lead but Dustin Brown has countered for the Los Angeles Kings who now trail the New York Rangers 2-1 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final at Madison Square Garden.MELBOURNE, Australia - Tournament favourite Iran downed a spirited Bahrain 2-0 and the United Arab Emirates trounced Qatar 4-1 in the opening Group C matches of the Asian Cup on Sunday.Ehsan Hajsafi and Masoud Shojaei scored late in each half to give Iran the win over Bahrain in a contest that started at a frenetic pace with plenty of chances for each side.Man Of The Match Hajsafi finally made the breakthrough for Iran in the second minute of first-half stoppage time when he gathered an attempted clearance from an Andranik Teymourian corner to fire the ball from just outside the area over the Bahrain defence and the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Sayed Mohamed Abbas.It was an unbelievable goal in any football stadium in the world, said Iran coach Carlos Queiroz.Iran doubled its lead in the 71st minute when Masoud collected a Teymourian cross and guided the ball past the near post.Iran and the UAE now share the Group C lead with one win each.Earlier, Ahmed Khalil and Ali Mabkhout scored two goals apiece as the UAE took advantage of a series of goalkeeping errors to beat Qatar 4-1 in the Group C opener in Canberra.The Melbourne match was virtually a home game for the Iranians with most of the 17,700-strong crowd at the Rectangular Stadium made up of chanting Iran fans dressed in the teams white, red and green.Thankfully tonight we performed very well and started our opening night with a victory, Hajsafi said. I am personally very glad because all the fans who were in the stadium are happy and that was a good start for us.The Bahrainis were determined not to be awed by their higher-ranked opponents and took advantage of every opportunity to threaten the Iran goal.Bahrain started the game better than us for the first 10 minutes until we were able to settle down our game, Queiroz said. It was necessary to play with full concentration and true fighting spirit to stop the movements of Bahrain.After the first ten minutes I think we controlled the game and we created the best opporrtunities in the game.dddddddddddd We scored and I think we deserved to win, the Portuguese-born coach added.Iran had three goals called back for offside, while Reza Ghoochannejhad came close to scoring early in the second half when he forced a scrambling save from Abbas with a slow shot from inside the box toward the left corner of the goal.Bahrains best chance of the second half came when Teymourian was called for tripping Faouzi Aaish, but Husain Baba Mohameds free kick cleared the wall only to be easily saved by Iran keeper Alireza Haghighi.The Iran team is very strong, Bahrain coach Marjan Eid said. I would like to thank my players. We lost three points, but my players did a good job and we have some chance in the second and third matches.In Canberra, Qatar goalkeeper Qasem Burhan was at least partially responsible for three goals in a blundering opener for the 2014 Gulf Cup champions.He made two mistakes but this is football, said Qatar coach Djamel Belmadi. In the previous competition, he was the best goalkeeper of the tournament. Today was not his day ... but the defenders also did not help him.It was Qatar that took the lead midway through the first half. Majed Naser blocked an initial shot from Mohammed Muntari but Khalfan Ibrahim, positioned on the edge of the area, chested the ball down and lobbed it back beautifully over the head of the retreating UAE goalkeeper.The UAE equalized nine minutes before the break when Qasem spilled a cross and, after a scramble in a crowded area, a defensive goal-line clearance from a Khalil header bounced off the strikers chest and into the net.Khalils free kick early in the second half deceived Qasem and bounced into the far corner of the Qatari goal.Khamis Esmaeels well-struck free kick was parried by the Qatari goalkeeper into the path of Mabkhout, who scored into an empty net from close range. The striker added another goal in the 89th, ensuring the UAE scored four goals in an Asian Cup game for the first time. ' ' '