Detroit Tigers 2012 regular season review – Part 31
After edging the New York Yankees 4-3 in Game 2 of a three match series, the Detroit Tigers were looking to continue the good work in the finale to earn a much needed series victory.
However, the Yankees played out of their skins in Game 3 on June 3, 2012. The pitching rotation, in particular, played a big part in deciding the outcome of the clash, limiting the Tigers to just one run at Comerica Park.
Starting pitcher Phil Hughes led from the front as he outpitched his counterpart from Detroit with a four hitter to lay the foundations of an impressive Yankees’ victory. Tigers’ ace Justin Verlander looked a bit out of sorts right from the start of the
contest.
The 2011 American League Most Valuable Player and Cy Young winner gave up nine hits and five runs in just over six innings to take his third straight loss of the season. Relief pitchers Duane Below and Brayan Villarreal combined to toss up two plus scoreless
innings but the batting line-up was unable to post enough runs on the board.
"It feels great. The big thing here has been pitch count and not going very deep into games," Hughes said. "My fastball was staying more true, had some good life on it. I just felt a lot better overall."
"I was uncomfortable right from the start, because the pitches that I practice every day weren't getting me strikes," Verlander said in a post game interview. "To get a strike, I had to come over more of the plate than I normally do, and that's a big problem
against that lineup."
Yankees’ Captain Derek Jeter provided his team with an excellent start as he homered to right in the first inning. Mark Teixeira also made his presence felt with a sacrifice fly hit to centre.
Alex Rodriguez, who had been struggling to find form since the start of the season, smacked a solo home-run to centre in the third to stretch New York’s lead to 3-0 in the third. For the Tigers, slugger Prince Fielder belted a home-run to right in the fourth
but his effort was not enough to save his team from another embarrassing defeat.
The Tigers continued their poor form in their next series against the Cleveland Indians as well. In Game 1 on June 5, the Tigers lost 4-2 to their American League Central Division opponents in a thrilling contest. Max Scherzer put up a fine performance but
still ended up on the losing side. For the Indians, starter Ubaldo Jimenez pitched with great control and accuracy to claim his sixth win of the season and give Cleveland a vital 1-0 series lead.
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