Mizzou in the Majors: Post-Season

♦ From Twitter:

@Ian_OConnor: Bigger upset? Max Scherzer no-hitting the Yankees in the new place or Max Schmeling beating Joe Louis in the old place (1st fight)?

♦ Max Scherzer relaxes - then takes it to the max (Detroit Free Press)

Scherzer had a strategy.

"You can't really focus on the ballpark, per se," he said. "I was more focused on the quality of their hitters and making sure I was executing pitches throughout the whole night."

He was so locked in that he didn't give up a hit until the sixth, when Robinson Cano struck a one-out flare into shallow leftfield. Asked whether he was aware of his no-hit performance to that point, Scherzer said, "Yeah. I think once you get through the third inning, that's when ... you can see there's a zero in that spot. That's the fun part of baseball and the fun part of pitching."

♦ Max Scherzer's no-hit bid gives Tigers a lift (Detroit News)

Nobody could've imagined this — not with Scherzer being forced to pitch on the road rather than at home, where this season his ERA was nearly a run-and-a-half better.

Scherzer mixed his pitches nicely and moved in and out, up and down, to near-perfection.

The biggest out he got, no doubt, came in the first inning. After getting the first two Yankees, he walked Robinson Cano on four pitches, then Alex Rodriguez on five, then started 3-0 to Mark Teixeira. It could've been a disaster from the get-go for Scherzer, but two pitches later he got Teixeira to pop up weakly to second and cruised from there.

♦ Ian Kinsler sets the table for Rangers (espn.com)

"What are those people saying now?" Washington said late last week. "Look at all the runs he's scored. Look at the production. That's why I never moved him out of the No. 1 spot. Nobody could convince me to move him out of the No. 1 spot. And nobody will convince me to move him out of the No. 1 spot. You see what he's doing. He's been tremendous for us in that leadoff role."

And he's already had an impact in the ALDS. Kinsler, who worked out with his teammates at Tropicana Field on Sunday as preparation for Monday's Game 3 in a series that is even through two games, provided a critical hit late in Saturday's Game 2. The Rangers led 5-3 in the sixth inning when Kinsler delivered two insurance runs. He went the other way for a double and steamed into second base, loudly clapping his hands.

"Any time you can get a hit like that and give our pitchers some breathing room, you're going to be excited," Kinsler said shortly after the game.