Gomes might get start for A's despite Tigers' righty rotation

The bad news for the Oakland A's on Saturday: They had to face Justin Verlander.

The good news for the A's: They won't face the Detroit Tigers ace again until Game 5 of the AL Division Series, if the series goes the distance.

Oakland faces three more right-handed starters, however, meaning that Jonny Gomes, the team's leader and one of its sparkplugs, might not get a start in the series. Manager Bob Melvin said that he might get Gomes a start, anyway, though Gomes is in a left-right platoon at designated hitter with Seth Smith.

Smith went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts Saturday, and Verlander struck out 11 in seven innings, leading the Tigers to a 3-1 victory in Game 1.

The strikeout total will faze the A's not at all: They set an American League record for strikeouts this season.

Coco Crisp provided Oakland's only run with a leadoff homer. Crisp is likely to be a big key in this series. He was bothered by an eye infection when the A's played in Detroit in late September, and Oakland dropped two of three.

He is a lifetime .346 hitter against Verlander.

One major development for Oakland on Saturday: Reliever Pat Neshek, the team's top righty-righty specialist, retired both batters he faced, working just three days after the death of his newborn son, Gehrig John. Neshek is a key member of the bullpen, and manager Bob Melvin said he wanted to get him into a game as soon as possible.

Despite enormous emotion -- he tapped his son's initials on his sleeve as he left the mound -- Neshek handled his duties extremely well.