Loaiza, Zito Named A's Playoff Starters

Ten of Oakland's top decision makers held a closed-door meeting in the manager's office yesterday and cast their votes on who should start for the Athletics in Game 2 of the AL championship series — Rich Harden or Esteban Loaiza.

The tally: Harden 5, Loaiza 5.

Loaiza won the tiebreaker based on his health, recent results and reliability. Harden has only pitched three times since missing more than three months with an elbow injury.

As expected, the A's named left-hander Barry Zito the starter for Game 1 on Tuesday night in the Coliseum against the wild card Detroit Tigers, who lost the ALDS opener before rallying to win three straight and eliminate the Yankees on Saturday.

Loaiza will pitch Wednesday.

"There was a lot of debate," general manager Billy Beane said. "I'm not sure there was a clear answer.I think as much as anything, the ultimate result was kind of knowing what you're going to get. Esteban just recently pitched. There was a good side to both decisions."