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Kenny Rogers, he of the infamous late-season and post-season collapse, pitched the Tigers to another solid victory over the A’s tonight in Detroit, giving the Tigs a 3-0 lead in the ALCS. Let’s take a moment to reflect on this performance.

Rogers is 41 years old. When he came to Detroit, everyone said he was washed up, couldn’t control his temper, and didn’t win games after the All-Star break, much less in the postseason.

In two postseason starts this year, Rogers has pitched 15 innings and allowed all of seven hits and zero earned runs. Not particularly known as a strikeout pitcher (averaging just under one strikeout every two innings this season), he has fanned 14 batters in those 15 innings.

In his first start, against what pundits widely described as a “modern-day Murderers’ Row” Yankees lineup, Rogers worked 7-2/3 innings, giving up five hits and striking out eight. In his second start, against an Oakland A’s lineup that thoroughly obliterated what was arguably baseball’s second-best pitching staff (the Minnesota Twins) in a three-game sweep, he worked 7-1/3 innings, giving up just two hits and allowing only one runner past first base. He also tacked on six more strikeouts, including two of Milton Bradley and another of Frank Thomas, who is now 0-for-forever against the Tigers in the ALCS.

Barring an epic collapse (see “2004 New York Yankees”), the Tigers are on their way to the World Series for the first time since 1984, and the way they’re playing now, have a decent shot at winning it in a sweep. Should they win tomorrow, they won’t have to travel again for almost two weeks and will have nearly a week off before Game 1 of the Series, which is a huge advantage to their already killer pitching staff and would allow Jim Leyland to set up whatever rotation he wished for the Series.