The Yankees rally late but it comes up short in today’s 5-3 loss to tie the American League Division Series at 1-1.
Max Scherzer took the mound for Game 2 in the Bronx and was throwing pitches with late life and enough movement to paint the outside of the strike zone. Scherzer had a no-hitter go 1 out into the 6th inning that was broken up by a bloop single to left field by last night’s star, Robinson Cano. Through 6 innings, the Yankees just managed 2 hits against Scherzer.
Freddy Garcia started for the Yankees and was behind early after a two-run home run by Miguel Cabrera in the 1st inning. After this, the veteran soft-tossing righty settled down and didn’t give up another run until the 6th inning after a Derek Jeter error looms large. With Austin Jackson leading off, Derek Jeter didn’t get enough behind a throw to get the speedy centerfielder and allowed him to reach base. As a result of this error, two runs scored later in the inning and put the Tigers ahead 4-0.
After Scherzer’s scoreless outing, Joaquin Benoit was called upon for 2 innings of relief and on his second inning of work, Curtis Granderson led off with a solo home run to get the Yankees on the scoreboard. A 9th-inning rally started with another home run as Nick Swisher took Detroit’s closer Jose Valverde deep on a first-pitch fastball. The next batter, Jorge Posada, hit a triple to center field over the head of Austin Jackson, his first career postseason triple. A walk by Russell Martin and a sacrifice fly by Andruw Jones cut the 4-run deficit to 2. Another walk brought the game-winning run to the plate in the form of Robinson Cano. Valverde’s 34-pitch outing ended with a groundout as the Tigers took Game 2.
The Yankees offense was held down by Max Scherzer’s pitches as lefties were stuck watching as pitches broke back over the plate and deceived them. Freddy Garcia’s outing was respectable as he kept the Yankees in a close game. The error in the 6th came back to haunt the Yankees as you could say the 2 runs that eventually scored were the difference. The play that Derek Jeter made is a play he often makes as well as Teixeira picking the ball out of the dirt. The late efforts by the Yankees offense could play a role in the remaining games of the series. A 34-pitch outing by the closer, Jose Valverde could affect his usage through the next 3 games as there are no days off between games. The next game will feature a Game 1 rematch that should last longer than it did last time between Justin Verlander and CC Sabathia.
Ryan Nakada
@adakannayr
