Tigers 3, Yankees 0: Anibal Sanchez outdueled Hiroki Kuroda and Miguel Cabrera recorded two hits and an RBI as visiting Detroit left New York with a 2-0 lead in the American League Championship Series.
Pinch hitter Avisail Garcia had an RBI single and Delmon Young also drove in a run for the Tigers, who did not have a baserunner until the sixth inning and hit just one ball out of the infield over the first five frames.
Sanchez (1-0) limited New York to three hits and walked three over seven innings, striking out seven while permitting just three baserunners to get into scoring position. Former Yankee Phil Coke fanned three over two frames to notch the save.
Kuroda (0-1) was perfect over the first five innings, striking out five of the first six batters he faced and seven of the first nine. The Japanese right-hander, who was pitching on three days' rest for the first time in his major-league career, had his bid at perfection end when Jhonny Peralta led off the sixth with a single.
The Tigers broke through in the seventh as Quintin Berry led off with a long fly that bounced over the center-field wall for a ground-rule double. He was held up at third on Cabrera's single despite right fielder Nick Swisher's poor throw to the plate.
After Prince Fielder struck out for the second time, Young hit a grounder to shortstop Jayson Nix, who threw to second to get the forceout. But Robinson Cano lost control of the ball while attempting to make the relay throw to first, allowing Berry to score the game's first run.
Detroit added two runs in the eighth thanks in part to a blown call by second base umpire Jeff Nelson. Omar Infante hit a two-out single and advanced on Austin Jackson's base hit, but should have been ruled out while returning to second base as Cano applied the tag well before Infante touched the bag.
Nelson did not see the tag and called Infante safe. Boone Logan came on to face Garcia, whose single to right plated Infante for a 2-0 lead.
Cabrera followed with an RBI single off Joba Chamberlain to provide the final margin.
Kuroda surrendered three runs and five hits over 7 2/3 innings, tying his career high of 11 strikeouts without issuing a walk.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Yankees manager Joe Girardi was ejected by Nelson while making a pitching change in the eighth for arguing the blown call at second earlier in the inning. ... Cano is mired in an 0-for-26 drought, the longest in one postseason in major-league history. ... New York CF Curtis Granderson struck out three more times, raising his postseason total to 14 in 26 at-bats. Teammate Alex Rodriguez, who fanned twice, is right behind him with 12 strikeouts in 23 at-bats. ... Young has recorded the game-winning RBI in each of the first two contests.
Detroit | NY Yankees | |
Anibal Sanchez | Player | Hiroki Kuroda |
Win | W/L | Loss |
7.0 | IP | 7.2 |
7 | Strikeouts | 11 |
3 | Hits | 5 |
0.00 | ERA | 3.52 |
Detroit | NY Yankees | |
Miguel Cabrera | Player | Raul Ibanez |
2 | Hits | 1 |
1 | RBI | 0 |
0 | HR | 0 |
2 | TB | 1 |
.500 | Avg | .500 |
Team | Hits | HR | TB | Avg | LOB | K | RBI | BB | SB | Errors |
Detroit | 8 | 0 | 9 | .229 | 12 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
NY Yankees | 4 | 0 | 5 | .129 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |