Tigers Muffle A's;SoCal Fire Threat Soars

Strong pitching by the Detroit Tigers muffled the Oakland Athletics' bats as the Tigers took game one of the American League Division Series 3-2 Friday night at Oakland Coliseum.Max Sherzer manhandled the A's with his fastball,striking out 11 in his 7 innings of work,and reliever Joaquin Benoit finished the job,getting the save.*
The only real excitement for the boisterous,towel-waving A's fans came in the seventh inning,when strongman Yoenis Cespedes clubbed a two-run homer,but it was too little too late for the Bay Area squad as they dropped the opener of the best 3 out of 5 ALDS.
One A's fan was so anxious,he bit his yellow towel as he watched the Tigers pitching shut his team down.*
In Southern California,the anxiety this weekend is about a severe wildfire threat as the annual ritual of the Santa Ana winds kicks into gear.These winds form when high pressure builds in the desert,pushing cool,dry air over the mountains and down toward the coast.As the air descends the slopes,it heats up rapidly and,striking the tinder dry vegetation,has a strong potential of igniting wildland fire.
Red flag fire warnings are posted for much of Los Angeles;Orange;San Bernardino;and Riverside Counties;plus other areas as far south as Campo on the Mexico border.Critical fire conditions will persist till Sunday evening,the National Weather Service said.
Los Angeles County is preparing by staffing nearly 500 extra firefighters on equipment across the county.Together with US Forest Service firefighters and a few dozen aircraft,they will handle the danger posed by near record low fuel moisture levels combined with the Santa Anas.Gusts of up to 85 mph are possible this weekend,with humidity in the single digits.Explosive fire growth is a distinct possibility,given the horrendous conditions in the region.
Update:In game 2 of the ALDS,Oakland evened the series to one game apiece by edging Detroit 1-0.The series now moves to Detroit for the third game on Monday.

Guatemalan Volcano Beckons To Tourists;Yankees Still Share First

Volcan del Fuego,the Volcano of Fire near the picturesque Guatemalan city of Antigua,caused a welcome tourist boom for local tour guides as it eased up Friday.Authorities lowered the alert level from red to orange when the lava flow died down to two 3,000 foot streams from the big flow it had been.It was the volcano's biggest eruption since 1974 by Volcan del Fuego,the country's most active volcano.
Antigua is a colonial era city with cobblestone streets and Baroque church architecture.About 5,000 people had evacuated;they began returning home to their villages as the danger lessened.The volcano is 12,346 feet high,or 3763 meters,looming over the region of widely scattered aboriginal villages.
Tour operators scheduled hikes beginning at dusk to observe the rare sight of the ribbons of fiery lava.Heavy ash fall continued to pose a health hazard for the sick,elderly and the very young.
On Friday night,the New York Yankees lost to the Tampa Bay Rays 6-4 at Yankee Stadium,but still held on to share of first place in the American League East with the Baltimore Orioles,who lost to the Oakland A's 3-2 at Oakland Coliseum.Yoenis Cespedes hit the crucial home run for the A's.More than 35,000 fans provided loud support for their San Francisco Bay Area team.