Detroit Tigers lose to New York Yankees 3-4 in series finale – MLB Update
Detroit Tigers lost to the New York Yankees 3-4 in a thrilling encounter at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan on Thursday, August 9 in the finale of their four match series.
Manager Joe Girardi will be extremely pleased with what he has seen from the Yankees in the last two games of the series.
"I'm extremely happy for what our guys accomplished," Girardi said, still stewing after the victory. "That doesn't mean I'm not going to get perturbed when I get a letter."
Tigers had used their home conditions superbly in first two games. With a series sweep against the Yankees, they could have easily replaced the Chicago White Sox at the top of American League Central Division standings table.
Credit should be given to the Yankees’ offence that turned things around by scoring 12 runs in Game 3. With momentum on their side, New York continued to play aggressively in the finale.
Although the Tigers tried hard to edge their opponents, they were unsuccessful. Closer Joaquin Benoit gave up two home-runs in his only inning pitched to take his third loss of the season.
"We let a golden opportunity get away there in the ninth," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said.
"He hasn't been keeping the ball in the ballpark very well," Leyland said of Benoit.
"Any time you see a pitcher give up a hit, you feel for them," Tigers’ starter Doug Fister said. "You feel their pain, their struggle."
For the Yankees, Raul Ibanez made the most of available opportunities early on as he tripled to deep centre in the second inning. Eric Chavez scored to make the score 1-0 in Yankees’ favour.
Ichiro Suzuki, who has looked in top form since last game, also joined the party with an RBI single to left in the second.
Tigers showed great willpower and fighting spirit to bounce back. Alex Avila homered and Andy Dirks doubled to left to help their team claim a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning but the Yankees were also determined to come out of the slump.
Mark Teixeira and Chavez hit back-to-back home-runs after Girardi looked extremely frustrated in the dugout. Relief pitcher Rafael Soriano pitched 1.1 scoreless to help the Yankees split a four game series.
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