The Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics will duke it out in Monday's the pivotal Game 3 while the Pittsburgh Pirates look to move on to the National League Championship game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Tigers vs. A's Game 3

After splitting the first two games, the Tigers and the A's are expected to give their best shot on Monday as both teams aim to take a 2-1 lead in what has been a very competitive American League Division Series.

The Tigers, who started Max Scherzer in Game 1 and Justin Verlander in Game 2, will be fielding another terrific hurler in Anibal Sanchez.

Sanchez finished the regular-season with a 14-8 record and one of the lowest ERA in the league at 2.57. He also collected 202 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.15 this season.

"This year, I just tried to keep to the level of those guys," Sanchez told ESPN. "For me, I've got my job, and every five days, I try at that point, to throw a really good game."

Manager Jim Leyland is also confident that his Tigers will deliver the goods with Sanchez starting for them on the mound.

"We just came back from playing two playoff games, and we're pitching a guy that led the league in earned run average. That's pretty good," Leyland said about the pitcher they acquired from the Miami Marlins in the middle of the 2012 season.

Meanwhile, the A's will counter with third-year hurler Jarrod Parker, who boasts a 12-8 record with an ERA of 3.97 and 134 strikeouts this season.

Despite facing great pressure heading into crucial game 3 of the series, Parker said he will try to blank the Tigers' batting corps just like Sonny Gray did in Game 2.

"That's the goal every time out," Parker said. "I'm not going to go out and press and force and not be who I am."

A's manager Bob Melvin is also aware of the Tigers' formidable pitching rotation, believing anyone of the four - including Doug Fister - can really do some damage against any team.

"They're lucky enough to have three guys -- and really Fister at times can be just as tough as any of them," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. "If you put any of those four guys on a different team ... you're looking at top-of-the-rotation guys."

In the next game, the Pittsburgh Pirates will try to secure their spot in the National League Championship game with a win against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday.

Live Stream & Schedule (Eastern Time - New York)

1:07 p.m: Oakland Athletics vs. Detroit Tigers - High Quality Live Stream & Boxscore / Other Link

3:07 pm; Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals - High Quality Live Stream & Boxscore / Other Link