DETROIT -- Yogi Berra had it right.
Berra famously said, "If you ain't got a bullpen, you ain't got nuthin'."
Nothing could be more true in this age when starters rarely go the distance.
If you're looking for the difference between winning and losing in the playoffs, look no further than Andrew Miller and Kevin Gausman.
Those are the two Baltimore Orioles relievers who are largely responsible for the Orioles' 2-0 ALDS lead.
Neither Baltimore starter Chris Tillman or Wei-Yin Chen made it past the fifth inning.
But in Game 1, Miller came in and shut down the Tigers for 1 2/3 innings after Tillman exited.
In Game 2, Gausman held the Tigers down for 3 2/3 innings, allowing just one run at the end, having to come in early after Chen couldn't get out of the fourth.
When Chen left in Game 2, the Tigers had a 5-2 lead thanks to an RBI single by Victor Martinez and home runs by J.D. Martinez and Nick Castellanos.
Gausman came in throwing 96-98 miles an hour and the Tigers couldn't do much until finally getting a run in the eighth.
"Gausman came in 3-4 innings, he was lights out," Torii Hunter said. "I mean, the guy was throwing 98 with a little sink. When we faced him as a starter he was 93-95, but coming out of the pen, it just seemed like he's strong."
For stark contrast, you see what has happened with Joba Chamberlain and Joakim Soria the last two days.
Chamberlain allowed one run on two hits without getting an out in Game 1, while Soria allowed four runs on three hits while getting one out.
"I have to be able to perform and get outs and right now it seems like it don't happen," Soria said.
In Game 2, Chamberlain got an out before hitting Adam Jones and then allowing two straight hits to Nelson Cruz and Steve Pearce, cutting the lead to 6-4.
Soria came in and walked J.J. Hardy to load the bases. Then pinch hitter Delmon Young -- yes, former Tiger Young -- cleared the bases with a double for a 7-6 Orioles lead.
"He's a fastball hitter," Soria said. "He swings at the first pitch and I throw a slider and he was on it and unfortunately for us he didn't hit it to our man."
For those keeping track, the Orioles have scored a total of 12 runs in the eighth innings of the first two games.
Meanwhile, Brad Brach and Zach Britton were able to finish the game off for the Orioles.
"It's frustrating," Chamberlain said. "Obviously Ver (Justin Verlander) went out and pitched his tail off and we came back and scored some runs. Like I said, this one's on me. There's no getting around it. If I don't put us in that situation, we're having a different conversation."
But it's not really a new conversation for the Tigers, who have dealt with bullpen issues for a long time.
Losing Bruce Rondon to Tommy John surgery in spring training was a blow, but the Tigers kept trying.
Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski tried to address part of the issue by signing established closer Joe Nathan before the season.
Although Nathan improved in the second half, he had a 4-2 record with 19 saves and a 5.61 ERA in the first half.
Dombrowski brought in Soria from the Texas Rangers. At the time, Soria was 1-3 with a 2.70 ERA and 17 saves in 35 games.
The Tigers even tried signing Joel Hanrahan, but he couldn't recover quickly enough from Tommy John surgery to make it back.
They claimed former Oriole Jim Johnson, who did not make the postseason roster.
Anibal Sanchez returned from a strained right pectoralis muscle that kept him out several weeks, which meant he would not have time to build up to starting again so he was in the bullpen.
Sanchez pitched a perfect sixth and seventh, including stranding the runner that Verlander had left. He threw 30 pitches, 21 for strikes.
But Tigers manager Brad Ausmus had said he would not use Sanchez more than two innings.
"We thought 35 (pitches) was pushing it so sending him back out would have been tough," Ausmus said. "It's more about him not being stretched out. He was hurt -- what was he out, six weeks? -- and he threw one inning, one simulated game. Asking him to throw really anything more than 30 pitches is a stretch."
Sanchez said he felt good but didn't expect to pitch more.
"The command was there, the speed for my fastball was there," Sanchez said. "I think I do everything that I can for help the team in those two innings.
"I assumed that I'm done with the second inning. It's set-up time. That's the time for Joba and I think I'm done right there."
The Tigers will be done right here unless David Price and Rick Porcello have it in them to throw a couple of complete games or at least give Nathan a chance with the lead.
"Our backs are against the wall," Hunter said. "Once your back's against the wall you can't go no further. Now we gotta fight. We gotta come out swinging, and it's all about survival. Just like those guys went up 2-0, I think we got a chance to win two in a row. We just gotta take it once pitch at a time, one game at a time.
"It don't look good, but we still have a pulse."
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