:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/794331/152375255.0.jpg)
Vegas may have the 94-win Oakland Athletics as an underdog in their American League Division Series against the 88-win Detroit Tigers, but the AL Central champs aren't buying the odds, according to a report from Casey Pratt of CSN Bay Area.
"They've been a great story," Tigers' manager Jim Leyland told Pratt. "I think it has been an unbelievable year for baseball and the A's have been part of the story."
Both teams rode late-season surges to capture their respective divisions, with the Athletics taking their first lead in the AL West on the last day of the regular season. The Tigers won the season series, 4-3, outscoring the A's 40-37, but Oakland has gone a major league-best 71-38 since June 2.
The first two games of the series will be in Detroit. The A's will face Tigers ace Justin Verlander, who went 2-0 against them this season, in Game 1, set for 3 p.m. PST on Saturday.