Kenny Rogers will have to wait until a possible Game 7 of the AL championship series to build on his success in Oakland.
Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland decided not to use the left-hander in Game 2 at the Coliseum, holding him back until the series shifts back to Detroit for Game 3 on Friday.
Rogers has dominated in Oakland _ both for and against the Athletics. He is 25-4 in his career in Oakland and 23-1 in 41 starts at the Coliseum since 1995, including two wins this season.
Rogers leads active pitchers with 21 victories against the A's, the team he pitched for from 1998-99.
``We considered that very strongly, but at the same time we felt like the effort against the Yankees was such a draining effort that we decided to give him the time,'' Leyland said Monday on the eve of the ALCS opener. That's why the decision was made. And at the same time, if by chance the series would go seven games, he would be able to pitch Game 3 and then Game 7 in Oakland. That's why we did it.''
Rogers threw 113 pitches in his Game 3 opening-round win against the Yankees, holding New York's vaunted lineup to five hits and no runs.
The A's weren't concerned about when Rogers would pitch.
``Kenny Rogers is a good pitcher, but he's a pitcher,'' designated hitter Frank Thomas said. ``Like I told guys earlier in the year, he's a guy who knows how to pitch. He works the corners, he works the change of speeds, he gets guys to chase balls other guys can't get them to chase, and he pitches to angles of the ballpark.''
Leyland is sticking with the same rotation that beat the Yankees in the opening round, with Nate Robertson pitching the opener followed by Justin Verlander, Rogers and Jeremy Bonderman.
``There really wasn't much decision on that one,'' Leyland said. ``Those are our four starters and that kind of falls into place. That's just the way we're going to do it.''
The A's have still not decided on the order of their rotation. Barry Zito will pitch the opener, followed by Esteban Loaiza.
Dan Haren and Victoria's Rich Harden will pitch the next two games in some order. Harden, who has not pitched since the season finale Oct. 1, allowed five runs over 3 1-3 innings in an instructional league game in Arizona. He struck out four, walked none and reached 94 m.p.h. on the radar gun.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
