Tigers hold on, even series with Yankees
NEW YORK — Robinson Cano and the New York Yankees failed to finish off their rally in the rain.
Better bounce back quickly, though. Justin Verlander is on deck for Detroit, and it’s a pretty safe bet he will pitch more than 1 inning this time.
Max Scherzer held the Yankees hitless until the sixth, Miguel Cabrera drove in 3 runs, and the Tigers beat New York 5-3 Sunday to tie their best-of-five American League playoff at a game apiece.
Shut out until the eighth inning, the Yankees tried to fight back on solo homers by Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher. Jorge Posada hit his first postseason triple in the ninth and Detroit catcher Alex Avila slipped on a slick on-deck circle, preventing him from catching a foul popup for the final out.
That seemed to be just the break New York needed to complete a stirring comeback from a 4-run deficit. But closer Jose Valverde, perfect in 49 save chances this season, retired Cano on a grounder with two on to end it.
“After the Granderson popup, where the catcher slipped, I said, ‘Wow, this might be our inning, we might have a break there,’” Mark Teixeira said. “But you can’t come through every single time.
“Robby’s been so big for us all year long and you guys saw what he did yesterday. It’s just tough to score a lot of runs off a closer like that.”
Derek Jeter made a costly error at shortstop for the Yankees and went 0-for-5. He struck out twice in key spots in the late innings.
Scherzer silenced Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez and the rest of a New York lineup that scored 9 runs in the series opener. The right-hander was working on a no-hit bid until Cano blooped a single in the sixth.
“He throws the ball hard. He pitched extremely well today,” Jeter said. “He’s been tough on us in the past, and he was tough on us again.”
The series shifts to Detroit tonight, with no day off for travel because Game 1 was suspended by rain Friday and then completed Saturday.
Verlander (24-5) gets the ball at spacious Comerica Park, looking to follow up on a dominant regular season that earned him the pitching version of a Triple Crown and a place in the MVP discussion.
Better bring those bats. Because if the Yankees don’t win Game 3, the season rides on the unreliable arm of A.J. Burnett in Game 4.
“It’s huge. Tomorrow’s a really big game. You don’t want to go down 2-1 with them having a chance to close it out at their home park,” Teixeira said.
The good news for New York is that its own pitching star, CC Sabathia, will be back on the mound tonight as well. He and Verlander squared off Friday in a highly anticipated matchup that lasted only 1½ innings.
Aces, interrupted. Now, they meet again.
“It should be a fun one to see those guys go to work against each other,” Granderson said.