Al Alburquerque finds out when a kiss isn't just a kiss

• Second-year pitcher caused a stir by kissing the ball before throwing to first
• Yoenis Cespedes backed off his remarks after the game
• Tigers players addressed the issue with Alburquerque

OAKLAND – Yoenis Cespedes has backed off his stated intention to kiss his bat the next time he hits a line drive off Al Alburquerque.

He'd rather beat the Detroit Tigers reliever, and if someone has a chance to impact a game for the Oakland Athletics, it's the rookie outfielder from Cuba.

Alburquerque's celebratory gesture in Sunday's Game 2 of this American League Division Series, when he kissed the ball after inducing an inning-ending comebacker from Cespedes with two runners on in the ninth, remained a hot topic after the series moved to Oakland.

There were any number of opinions on Alburquerque's unique reaction, from teammates vowing he meant no harm to A's players taking at least mild umbrage. Some Tigers players addressed the issue with Alburquerque to make sure he didn't do it again, while others needled him.

"I know they (the A's) probably took it as a sign of disrespect, but if they knew the type of player he is and the type of guy he is, they wouldn't take it that way,'' Tigers catcher Gerald Laird said.

Alburquerque,a second-year pitcher from the Dominican Republic who earned the win as Detroit went up 2-0 in the series, explained himself for the first time to news reporters.

"It was just the emotion of the game,'' he said in Spanish. "I wasn't pimping. I was very excited about getting the out, and if Cespedes was offended, I apologize to him and their players, because I wasn't trying to do anything disrespectful.''

Cespedes said he didn't think the gesture was professional, but he took no offense.

"Not at all. It was his turn to win,'' Cespedes said. "Someday it will be my turn.''

Reminded of his comment Sunday about kissing his bat, Cespedes replied: "I said that,but no, I'm not going to do that. I'm a professional.''

As the Tigers seek to close out a series that could easily be tied – they benefited from center fielder Coco Crisp's critical two-run error to pull out a 5-4 win in Game 2 – they'd rather not incite a player who has already impressed them with his overall game.

Cespedes has three hits in eight at-bats, including a run-scoring single Sunday, and tied that game by himself when he singled in the eighth, stole second and third, then scored on a Joaquin Benoit wild pitch.

The RBI hit came on a curveball, the kind of pitch he struggled with early in the season.

"He has really matured at the plate, where you can't just say, 'I can just get him out with this or that,''' Tigers closer Jose Valverde said. "He has adjusted quickly to American pro baseball.''

A veteran of international amateur tournaments before defecting from Cuba, Cespedes said he notices no difference between regular-season and playoff baseball, other than a few extra fans.

That's the kind of loose mind-set the A's have maintained in this groundbreaking season, and they believe it gives them a fighting chance even in their current predicament. As proof, they point to their sweep of the Texas Rangers in the final series of the season – overcoming a 5-1 deficit in the finale – to capture the AL West title.

Eleven days before that at Yankee Stadium, they blew a four-run lead in the 13th inning and lost to the New York Yankees in 14.

"It was just devastating, unbelievable – well, we won the next day,'' outfielder Jonny Gomes said. "These guys have (short) memories. There's something to be said about that in baseball.''