DETROIT — In what has become an important series for the below .500 New York Yankees, they defeated the Detroit Tigers, 8-6, in today’s series opener at Comerica Park.
Aaron Hicks hit two home runs, a normal and one of the inside-the-park variety, to pace the offensive attack for the Bombers. Aaron Judge also extended his hitting streak to 11 games with an RBI single in the fifth inning.
Sometimes, keeping it inside the walls works too…it's an inside-the-park two-run homer for Aaron Hicks! #YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/6WK4PjQ0FB
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 13, 2018
The Yankees were able to score a majority of their runs off of Tigers starter Mike Fiers, who gave up eight hits and six runs.
On the other side, Jordan Montgomery produced a quality start for a team that was in desperate need of one. He went six innings for New York, allowing just five hits and three runs, while striking out four.
A James McCann home run in the fifth and two runs in the seventh were the only tarnishes on Montgomery’s line.
For the Yankees, they scored three runs in the fifth inning, before the bottom of the order gave them some breathing room in the eighth. Ronald Torreyes, who had three hits, drove in Miguel Andujar, who just hit a triple for his second knock of the night. A sacrifice fly from Didi Gregorius would add another to New York’s tally later in the frame.
The game looked to be sealed with the Yankees holding an 8-3 lead entering the eighth inning. A sporadic performance, however, from Dellin Betances opened the door on a possible Detroit comeback. Jeimer Candelario homered off of him to leadoff the inning, before McCann and Jose Iglesias had RBI singles to cut the Tiger deficit to 8-6.
Chad Green came in and struck out Dixon Machado to stop the threat.
In the ninth, Aroldis Chapman was excellent, striking out the side, as he picked up his second save of the season.
#StartSpreadingTheNews yankees win great start by 🦃 going 6strong … offense🔥🔥 #👴🏽 decided to 🏃🏾♂️ for the first homer and 🚶🏾♂️ for the second homer 🤔… #BigToe como lo haces 🔥🔥 …. All around great game…🔥🔥
— Sir Didi Gregorius (@DidiG18) April 14, 2018
While the Yankees got the victory, their bullpen once again struggled to close out the game. They were also outhit by Detroit, 12-11, in a game where the heart of the Tigers’ lineup all had two hits each.
Luis Cessa will make his first start of the season tomorrow as he will face Francisco Liriano.
Current Yankees Record: 7-7
