- Justin Verlander has been brilliant in this game. He is mixing his pitches well. The A's are extremely unbalanced. Perhaps he can give the Tigers a complete game to avoid the bullpen. Oakland's hitters, with the exception of Yoenis Cespedes, appear overmatched. But we all know about the A's propensity for unlikely comebacks.
- There has been a classic example in this game how not play catcher at the major league level by the A's Derek Norris. Those were ruled wild pitches on Oakland starter Jarrod Parker, but neither should have gotten away from Norris, who is boxing the ball like Floyd Mayweather. Conversely, you have seen how to play catcher in the major leagues from the Tigers' Alex Avila. He is a far better receiver than Norris. A huge factor so far tonight.
- There are times when the sacrifice bunt is the right call, even early in games. We've seen it the last couple games by the Tigers, tonight by Quintin Berry. Now people can officially stop blasting Tigers manager Jim Leyland  for not bunting enough? Runs are a premium in this series. Playing for one run at time does make sense.
- The Tigers are getting better swings off Parker tonight than they did in Game 1. His fastball isn't carrying quite the same velocity.
- How did umpire Wally Bell get the home plate assignment for such a big game with such an inconsistent strike zone? At times, it has been embarrassing. What is a strike on the outside corner to left-handed hitters? It has been impossible to tell.