Sanchez pulls near no-no as Tigers take Game 1; Cards up 2-0

Anibal Sanchez and four Detroit Tiger relievers came within two outs of the first combined no-hitter in postseason history after striking out 17 to shutout the Boston Red Sox, 1-0, in the American League Championship Series opener.

Sanchez struck out 12, including a record-tying four in the 1st inning, and Al Alburquerque, Jose Veras, Drew Smyly, & Joaquin Benoit stretched the no-hitter through eight innings. But with one out in the 9th inning, Daniel Nava lined a single to center field off Benoit to end Detroit's bid for the third postseason no-hitter in history.

Jhonny Peralta hit an RBI single off Jon Lester in the 6th inning to bring home Miguel Cabrera for the game's only run. Game 2 is set for this Sunday night at 8 pm from Fenway Park.




Michael Wacha stared down a bases-loaded situation in the 6th inning and pitched into the 7th as the St. Louis Cardinals kept the Los Angeles Dodgers' bats silent for the second straight day, earning a 1-0 shutout for a 2-0 lead in the NL Championship Series.

The Cardinals managed only two hits off Clayton Kershaw & the Dodgers, but Jon Jay's sacrifice fly set up by David Freese's double and A.J. Ellis' passed ball in the 5th inning stood up.

Game 3 will be this Monday night at 8 pm inside Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, with Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright facing L.A.'s rookie Hyun-Jin Ryu.