Sheffield, Tigers Rough Up Road-Weary Yankees
Gary Sheffield and Curtis Granderson homered in the third inning, sending old pro Kenny Rogers and the Detroit Tigers to a 6–4 victory over the roadweary Yankees last night.
Magglio Ordonez got Detroit going with a two-run single off struggling right-hander Phil Hughes, and the $139 million Tigers (12–15) won for the sixth time in eight games as they try to recover from an 0–7 start.
Granderson also doubled, walked twice and scored three times from the leadoff spot, while No. 2 batter Placido Polanco had four hits and two runs in a matchup of baseball's top-spending teams.
Robinson Cano hit a two-run homer for the Yankees, who were missing injured stars Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada. The team returned home after playing 18 of their previous 20 games on the road.
Rodriguez left the ballpark for an MRI on his strained right quadriceps, and the club was waiting for additional opinions on Posada's ailing throwing shoulder before determining whether the All-Star catcher needs surgery.
Jason Giambi's RBI single cut it to 6-4 in the ninth, but Todd Jones retired the next three batters for his fifth save. Cano struck out with a runner on to end it — the Yankees stranded 13 runners.
Playing with their entire projected lineup for only the second time this season, the Tigers took advantage of an ineffective Hughes (0–4), who has a 9.00 ERA after six starts.
Rogers (2–3) gave the youngster a lesson in pitching without sharp stuff, holding New York in check despite giving up six hits and walking four in six innings.
The 43-year-old left-hander was the oldest pitcher to start against the Yankees since Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan did so for Texas at age 45 on June 1, 1992, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. New York won that game 7–1.
Rogers, drafted by the Rangers four years before the 21-year-old Hughes was born, snapped a three-start losing streak and earned a regular-season win against the Yankees for the first time since Aug. 17, 1993, with Texas. Of course, he also beat them 6-0 in Game 3 of the 2006 AL division series with Detroit.
Rogers, who mostly struggled while pitching for New York from 1996-97, entered with a 6.45 regular-season ERA against the Yankees before notching his 212th career win.
Denny Bautista walked the bases loaded in the eighth and forced in a run when he hit Derek Jeter with a pitch, making it 6-3. Clay Rapada retired Bobby Abreu on a grounder to escape further damage.
Booed by the crowd of 49,194, Hughes allowed six runs and eight hits in 3.2 innings. He also crossed up new catcher Chris Stewart a couple of times, including on one of his two wild pitches. Now, whether the Yankees stay patient with Hughes and keep him in the rotation during his second big league season remains to be seen. Granderson homered to center leading off the third, his third home run since returning from a broken right hand last Wednesday.
After Polanco doubled and moved up on a wild pitch, another ex-Yankee hurt New York. Sheffield drove a 2-2 delivery over the left-field fence, and Hughes was left shaking his head near the mound.
Rogers walked three straight with two outs in the third, then went to 3-2 on his fourth consecutive batter, Cano, before retiring him on a routine fly.
