This is why the Tigers paid big bucks for Prince Fielder this past offseason. The burly Bengal drills a solo homer against the A's A.J. Griffin in the fourth inning of Game 4 Wednesday night, as the Tigers looked to eliminate Oakland and advance to the ALCS.

Tigers starter Max Scherzer throws out the A's Josh Donaldson on a comebacker in the second inning Wednesday night in Oakland.

Jhonny Peralta of the Tigers jumps back from a pitch by A.J. Griffin of the A's during Game 4 of the ALDS on Wednesday night in Oakland.

Detroit manager Jim Leyland hits grounders during infield practice in Oakland on Wednesday night before his Tigers tried to wrap up their ALDS series against the A's.

Yankee captain Derek Jeter dives into third on a third-inning triple Wednesday night against the Orioles in Game 3 of the ALDS at Yankee Stadium. Jeter had fouled a pitch off his leg earlier in this at-bat, and later came out of the game. He was on the bench in a sweatshirt when the Bombers won 3-2 in 12 innings to take a 2-1 series lead.

Mark Reynolds of the Orioles is hit by a pitch at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night — the second of two Bird batters plunked by Bombers starter Hiroki Kuroda.

The Orioles' Manny Machado wasn't saying shhhh with this gesture, but his home run in the fifth inning at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night silenced the crowd anyway ... at least until Raul Ibanez homered for New York in the ninth and then again in the 12th to give the Bombers a thrilling 3-2 win. Then the Bronx crowd was anything but quiet.

... Yankees starter Hiroki Kuroda. Raul Ibanez's two heroic homers will capture all the headlines, but Kuroda pitched a solid 8 1/3 innings of two-run, five-hit ball in the Bombers' 3-2, 12-inning victory over the Orioles that put New York up 2-1 in the ALDS.

Not bad when you have a two-time Cy Young winner coming out of the bullpen — but that's how the Giants set up their pitching in the NLDS, and it paid off on Wednesday in Game 4 against the Reds. Barry Zito started but lasted only 2 2/3 innings — and then Lincecum, the fourth of five Frisco pitchers, got the win, going 4 1/3 innings in the Giants' 8-3 victory, which evened the series at 2-2.

The Orioles' Nate McLouth argues with umpire Marvin Hudson after being tagged out on a stolen-base attempt in the first inning Wednesday night at Yankees Stadium. McLouth's appeal was denied — and so were the O's, as they lost Game 3 of the ALDS 3-2 in 12 innings on Yankee Raul Ibanez's walkoff homer.

Yankees right fielder Nick Swisher climbs the wall but can't reach the home-run ball hit by Baltimore's Ryan Flaherty in the third inning Wednesday night during Game 3 of the ALDS in New York. Manny Machado added a fifth-inning homer for the O's — but Raul Ibanez's walkoff blast in the bottom of the 12th, his second homer of the game, negated those Baltimore heroics and lifted New York to a 3-2 win and 2-1 lead in the series.

Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval grounds out in the third inning in Cincinnati on Wednesday, but he finished the day 3-for-4 with three RBI and a two-run homer as one of the offensive stars in San Francisco's 8-3 victory over the Reds in Game 4 of the NLDS. The series is tied 2-2.

Giants starter Barry Zito delivers to the Reds in the third inning Wednesday in Cincinnati. Zito exited with two outs in the frame, having given up two runs and four hits before handing off to the bullpen. Tim Lincecum, the fourth of five Frisco pitchers, got the victory as San Francisco won 8-3 to even the NLDS at two games apiece.

Cardinals right fielder Carlos Beltran races toward the foul line and snares a fly hit by the Nationals' Jayson Werth in the third inning. A little later in the game ...

... Beltran used those surgically repaired legs to race around the bases and score this eighth-inning run. The Cards tacked on two runs in the frame to finish off an 8-0 victory over the Natonals in Game 3 of the NLDS. Beltran was 2-for-4 in the game.

A downtrodden Nats rookie Bryce Harper descends the dugout steps and heads to the clubhouse Wednesday after his team dropped an 8-0 decision to the Cardinals. St. Louis took a 2-1 lead in the NLDS.

Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday grimaces after fouling a ball off his left shin during the seventh inning of St. Louis' 8-0 win over the Nats on Wednesday in Game 3 of the NLDS. Holliday went 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored in the victory, so maybe that helped ease the pain.

A Washington fan waves a towel Wednesday during Game 3 of the NLCS between the Nats and Cards. It came in handy for crying into later, as the home team fell into a 2-1 hole in the series with an 8-0 loss to St. Louis.

Cardinals center fielder Jon Jay (19) is congratulated by teammates after scoring in the seventh inning Wednesday. St. Louis hitting coach Mark McGwire (in sweatshirt) isn't at all distracted by the joy behind him, as he marks down notes.

Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday is all focus as he catches a pop up hit by Washington's Danny Espinosa in the fourth inning.

The Nationals' Michael Morse grimaces after striking out swinging to end the first inning Wednesday in DC. There were eight more innings of misery for Washington, which lost 8-0 to the Cardinals in Game 3 of the NLDS, as St. Louis took a 2-1 lead in games.