The 2006

American League Division Series In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring e ...

(ALDS), the opening round of the 2006

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 3, and ended on Saturday, October 7, with the champions of the three AL divisions—along with a " wild card" team—participating in two best-of-five series. They were: *(1)

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

(East Division champions, 97–65) vs. (4) Detroit Tigers (Wild Card, 95–67); Tigers win series, 3–1. *(2) Minnesota Twins (Central Division champions, 96–66) vs. (3) Oakland Athletics (West Division champions, 93–69); Athletics win series, 3–0. The Athletics and Tigers met in the AL Championship Series, where a Detroit sweep made the Tigers the American League champions. The Tigers then faced the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

in the

2006 World Series The 2006 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2006 season. The 102nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Detroit Tigers and the National Lea ...

, and lost in five games.

Playoff race

The AL playoff race of 2006 was unusually dramatic, with the last divisional championship and the wild card berth undecided until the final day of the season, and the most unlikely of all of the AL's playoff contenders taking the top spot in the AL Central and the second seed. In the

AL East The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before ...

, the

(97–65) clinched the division when the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

were eliminated from the playoffs by the Minnesota Twins (96–66) on September 20. The Oakland Athletics (92–69) clinched the

AL West The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams cur ...

on September 26, and in the

AL Central The American League Central is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed in the realignment of 1994 by moving three teams from the American League West and two teams from the American League East. Its teams are all loc ...

, the Twins won the division by a single game over the Wild Card Detroit Tigers (95–67) after Detroit—who had led the division for the entire season—lost their last five games. Minnesota had set a torrid pace since June 7, after a horrible start. The Twins sewed up their playoff berth with an 8–1 win over the Kansas City Royals. They clinched the Central Division title, their fourth in five years, with a 5–1 victory and a 10–8 Detroit loss to the Royals on the last day of the season. The Twins' 96–66 mark is their best since the 98–64 AL West Champion Twins of 1970.

Matchups

New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers

†: Game was postponed due to rain on October 4

Minnesota Twins vs. Oakland Athletics

New York vs. Detroit

Game 1

Yankee Stadium (I) in Bronx, New York The Yankees struck first with a five-run third inning off

Nate Robertson Nathan Daniel Robertson, (born September 3, 1977) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies. Career Florida Marlins Robertson attended Wichi ...

, who allowed a leadoff single to

Johnny Damon Johnny David Damon (born November 5, 1973) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1995 to 2012. During his MLB career, Damon played for the Kansas City Royals (1995–2000), Oakland A ...

and subsequent double to Derek Jeter. Bobby Abreu doubled to score both men,

Gary Sheffield Gary Antonian Sheffield (born November 18, 1968) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball for eight teams from 1988 to 2009. He is a sports agent. For most of his career, Sheffield played right ...

singled in Abreu, and

Jason Giambi Jason Gilbert Giambi (; born January 8, 1971) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter. In his Major League Baseball (MLB) career, which began in 1995, Giambi played for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yank ...

capped the scoring with a two-run home run. In the fifth, the Tigers got on the board with a solo home run from Craig Monroe, then

Brandon Inge Charles Brandon Inge ( ; born May 19, 1977) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and catcher and currently a volunteer assistant coach for the Michigan Wolverines baseball team. He played 12 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, on ...

singled with one out before back-to-back two-out RBI doubles by

Plácido Polanco Plácido Enrique Polanco (; born October 10, 1975) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers and Miami Marlins. He was a ...

and Sean Casey made it 5–3 Yankees, but

Chien-Ming Wang Chien-Ming Wang (; born March 31, 1980) is a Taiwanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Washington Nationals, Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals. He also played for ...

struck out

Magglio Ordóñez Magglio José Ordóñez Delgado (; born January 28, 1974) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball right fielder. He played for the Chicago White Sox (1997–2004) and Detroit Tigers (2005–2011). Ordóñez is tall and weighs . Having p ...

to end the inning. The Yankees added to their lead in the sixth off Robertson when Damon singled with two outs, then Jeter doubled before both men scored on Abreu's single.

Curtis Granderson Curtis Granderson Jr. (born March 16, 1981), nicknamed the "Grandyman", is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Ange ...

's home run in the seventh off

Mike Myers Michael John Myers OC (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. His accolades include seven MTV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002, he was awarded a star on the Hollywoo ...

made it 7−4 Yankees, but they got that run back on Jeter's home run in the eighth off Jamie Walker.

Mariano Rivera Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. Nicknamed "Mo" and "Sandman", he spent most ...

pitched a scoreless ninth while Jeter batted 5-for-5 in the game, becoming the sixth player to record five hits in one postseason game.

Game 2

Yankee Stadium (I) in Bronx, New York Game 2 was postponed for one day due to rain. In the second inning, Craig Monroe doubled with two outs before scoring on Marcus Thames's single to give the Tigers a 1–0 lead. In the fourth,

launched a three-run home run off

Justin Verlander Justin Brooks Verlander ( ; born February 20, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros. From Manakin-Sabot, ...

to give the Yankees a 3–1 lead. That would be last time the Yankees would lead a game in the series, and the last time they would score until Game 4. Jamie Walker (who earned the victory in relief) and

Joel Zumaya Joel Martin Zumaya (born November 9, 1984) is a former American professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers from 2006 through 2010. Baseball career Zumaya was drafted out of Bonita Vista High School ...

shut the Yanks down for the rest of the game. The Tiger hitters clawed their way back off

Mike Mussina Michael Cole Mussina (born December 8, 1968), nicknamed "Moose", is an American former baseball starting pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1991–2000) and the New York Yankees (2001–2008). ...

. In the fifth, Thames hit a leadoff double, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a sacrifice fly from

to cut the lead to one. Next inning,

Carlos Guillén Carlos Alfonso Guillén (born September 30, 1975) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball infielder. Guillén was signed by the Houston Astros as a non-draft amateur free agent in 1992. He was traded to the Seattle Mariners with pitcher F ...

homered to tie the game and in the seventh, Thames hit a leadoff single, moved to second on a passed ball, then to third on a sacrifice bunt before scoring on Granderson's triple to give the Tigers a 4–3 lead. In the ninth, Todd Jones earned the save by getting Johnny Damon to fly out to center with one man on to end the game and even the series.

Game 3

Comerica Park Comerica Park is a baseball stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It has been the home of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers since 2000, when the team left Tiger Stadium. History Construction Founded in 1894, the Tigers had played at the c ...

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

Feeding off a crowd witnessing its first playoff game in 19 years, Detroit pitcher

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted m ...

pitched innings of scoreless ball, earning a victory and standing ovation from the

crowd in a 6–0 Tigers win. Rogers was throwing as hard as 92 mph in the eighth inning, topping his usual top speed by 3–4 mph.

used his 103-mph arm to close out the inning, and Todd Jones closed the game for the second time, but did not earn a save, as the Tigers were not in a save situation. Offensively, the Tigers got on the board off

Randy Johnson Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "The Big Unit", is an American photographer and former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle M ...

in the second on three straight leadoff singles, the last of which by Sean Casey scoring Carlos Guillen. After

struck out,

hit into a forceout at second to score

Iván Rodríguez Iván Rodríguez Torres (born November 27, 1971), nicknamed "Pudge" and "I-Rod", is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball catcher. He played for the Texas Rangers (in two separate stints, comprising the majority of his career), Florida ...

. It could have been a hit had Robinson Cano not made a great diving stop behind the bag to prevent the ball from going into the outfield. On a 1-2 pitch to

, Granderson appeared to be picked off base when Johnson threw to first baseman

, but the Yankees muffed the play when Johnson and Giambi both made poor throws to each base. Polanco capitalized on their mistake when he singled up the middle, scoring Granderson to make it 3−0. In the sixth, Guillen singled with two outs before back-to-back RBI doubles by Rodriguez and Casey made it 5−0 Tigers. Granderson capped the scoring with a leadoff home run off Brian Bruney in the seventh.

Game 4

Detroit finished off New York behind another dominating pitching performance, this time by Jeremy Bonderman in an 8–3 clinching win. In the second inning,

hit a leadoff home run and after

walked with one out, Craig Monroe homered off Jaret Wright to give the Tigers a 3–0 lead. Next inning, Ordonez reached on an error, moved to third on a single and scored on Rodrigeuz's single. Wright was replaced by

Cory Lidle Cory Fulton Lidle (March 22, 1972 – October 11, 2006) was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, Lidle played in Major League Baseball with the New York Mets, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jay ...

, who ended the inning without further damage and pitched a perfect fourth, but in the fifth, allowed three consecutive leadoff singles, the last of which to Ordonez scoring a run. After allowing an RBI double to Carlos Guillen, Lidle was relieved by Brian Bruney, who allowed a sacrifice fly to Rodriguez. Next inning,

Scott Proctor Scott Christopher Proctor (born January 2, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 2004 and 2011 for the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Atlanta Braves. In 2012, he p ...

allowed a two-out single to Plácido Polanco, who scored on Sean Casey's double to make it 8−0 Tigers. Bonderman, meanwhile, pitched a no-hitter through five innings. Robinson Canó singled in the sixth for the Yankees' first hit, but Bonderman prevented any further damage. The Yankee hitters ended their 20-inning scoreless streak in the seventh when Derek Jeter hit a leadoff single, moved to third on Bobby Abreu's single and scored on

Hideki Matsui , nicknamed " Godzilla", is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played baseball in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Mats ...

's groundout. Bonderman left the game in the ninth inning with one on and one out. Jamie Walker gave up a two-out, two-run homer to

Jorge Posada Jorge Rafael Posada Villeta (born August 17, 1970) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. Posada recorded a .273 batting average, 275 home runs, and ...

in the ninth before getting Robinson Canó to ground out to end the game and send the Tigers to the 2006 ALCS against the Oakland Athletics. The game is notable as Cory Lidle's final appearance before dying in an airplane crash four days later, and was the final ALDS game televised by Fox due to the new TV contracts as of 2011. While Fox Sports would reclaim partial Division Series broadcasting rights in 2014, all of their Division Series games since have been broadcast on

FS1 Fox Sports 1 (FS1) is an American pay television channel owned by the Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. FS1 replaced the motorsports network Speed on August 17, 2013, at the same time that its companion channel Fox Sports 2 ...

Composite box

2006 ALDS (3–1): Detroit Tigers over

Minnesota vs. Oakland

Game 1

Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota The A's struck first in Game 1 on Frank Thomas's leadoff home run in the second off Twins' ace

Johan Santana Johan Alexander Santana Araque (; born March 13, 1979) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball starting pitcher. Santana pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins from 2000 to 2007 and for the New York Mets from 2008 ...

. Jay Payton singled with one out and scored on

Marco Scutaro Marcos Scutaro, better known as Marco Scutaro, (; born October 30, 1975) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball infielder. He bats and throws right-handed. Scutaro made his major league debut with the New York Mets in 2002, and subsequentl ...

's two-out double. Barry Zito pitched shutout innings before

Rondell White Rondell Bernard White (born February 23, 1972) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder and designated hitter. As well as being a solid defensive player, White also had a batting ave ...

's seventh inning home run put the Twins on the board. Thomas's second home run in the ninth off Jesse Crain made it 3–1 A's. The Twins again made it a one-run game in the bottom of the inning when

Michael Cuddyer Michael Brent Cuddyer (; born March 27, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Colorado Rockies, and New York Mets. He batted and threw right-han ...

hit a leadoff triple off

Huston Street Huston Lowell Street ( ; born August 2, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Angels. After ...

and scored on

Torii Hunter Torii Kedar Hunter (; born July 18, 1975) is an American former professional baseball center fielder and right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and Detroit Tigers from 1997 ...

's one-out groundout, but White flew out to end the game and give the A's a 1–0 series lead.

Game 2

Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota In Game 2,

Nick Swisher Nicholas Thompson Swisher (born November 25, 1980) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was a switch hitter who threw left-handed, and played for the Oakland Athletics, Chica ...

doubled to lead off the fifth off Boof Bonser, then scored on

's double. One out later,

Jason Kendall Jason Daniel Kendall (born June 26, 1974) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1996 through 2010 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, and Ka ...

's RBI single made it 2–0 Oakland. Back-to-back home runs by

and

Justin Morneau Justin Ernest George Morneau (born May 15, 1981) is a Canadian former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, and Chicago White Sox. At and , ...

leading off the bottom of the sixth off Esteban Loaiza tied the game. In the seventh, Mark Ellis singled with one out off

Pat Neshek Patrick John Neshek (pronounced NEE-shehk; born September 4, 1980), is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, ...

, then Mark Kotsay's inside-the-park home run off Dennys Reyes put Oakland back in front 4–2. They added another run in the ninth when Swisher hit a leadoff double off Juan Rincon, moved to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch by

Joe Nathan Joseph Michael Nathan (born November 22, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, and Chicago Cu ...

pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth despite allowing a single and walk to give the A's a 2–0 series lead.

Game 3

McAfee Coliseum Oakland Coliseum, currently branded as RingCentral Coliseum, is a stadium in Oakland, California. It is part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880. The Coliseum is the home ba ...

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

The A's struck first in the bottom of the second on

Eric Chavez Eric Cesar Chavez (born December 7, 1977) is an American professional baseball coach and former third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics (1998–2010), New York Yankees (2011–2012), and Arizona Diamondb ...

's one-out home run off Brad Radke, who would retire following the series. Jay Payton then singled before scoring on

's two-out double. Next inning, Mark Kotsay reached on an error before

Milton Bradley Milton Bradley (November 8, 1836 – May 30, 1911) was an American business magnate, game pioneer and publisher, credited by many with launching the board game industry, with his eponymous enterprise, which was purchased by Hasbro in 1984, and ...

's two-run home run made it 4–0 A's.

's home run in the fourth off

Dan Haren Daniel John Haren (born September 17, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Haren played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Wa ...

put the Twins on the board. In the sixth, with

at third and Hunter at second,

's RBI single made it 4–2 A's, but Hunter was thrown out at home for the second out. In the seventh, Dennys Reyes walked two without outs before being relieved by Jesse Crain. An error loaded the bases before

walked to force in a run and Scutaro cleared the bases with a double, all four runs unearned. Morneau's home run in the eighth off

Justin Duchscherer Justin Craig Duchscherer UKE-shur(born November 19, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball for the Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics. Playing career Early career Duchscherer (nickname: " ...

made it 8–3 A's, but

pitched a scoreless ninth as the A's won their first postseason series since the

1990 ALCS The 1990 American League Championship Series was a best-of-seven series that matched the East Division champion Boston Red Sox against the West Division champion Oakland Athletics. For the second time in three years, the Athletics swept the Red ...

Composite box

2006 ALDS (3–0): Oakland Athletics over Minnesota Twins

Notes

External links

DET vs. NYY at Baseball-ReferenceOAK vs. MIN at Baseball-Reference
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Sports competitions in Detroit 2000s in Minneapolis

2000s in the Bronx Yankee Stadium (1923)