The Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees continue their five-game American League Division series Sunday afternoon inside Yankee Stadium.
Detroit Tigers at New York Yankees
Detroit suffered a 9-3 loss to the New York Yankees in the first game, as it was completed Saturday night after being suspended on Friday. “You can’t put too much in one game. Obviously, you want to jump out on top early, but it’s good to have short-term memory loss,” commented Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge. The Tigers sent five pitchers to the mound in total for the game and will now focus on winning Game 2. The team winning this game has gone on to take each of the Yankees’ last eight postseason series. Detroit is 39-23 in day games and 65-47 versus right-handed starters.
Tigers starting pitcher Max Scherzer finished the 2011 regular season with a 15-9 record and 4.43 ERA, coming in off a 9-6 home win over the Cleveland Indians. He allowed four runs and seven hits over 5 2/3 innings in that contest. The right-hander has compiled a 7-5 record and 5.23 ERA in 15 road games, surrendering 18 home runs in 86 innings. Scherzer has had success against the Yankees in his career, going 3-0 with a 2.84 ERA in three starts. He picked up a 10-7 road win in his first start of the year at Yankee Stadium, giving up six runs and nine hits over five frames.
New York has been here before in playing its 16th postseason in the past 17 years, but had to wait awhile for a grand slam, which happened on Saturday night. Second baseman Robinson Cano connected for his team’s first postseason grand slam in nearly 12 years. “It’s not about one player; it’ s about the whole team,” stated Cano after the game. It was the major shot in a six-run sixth inning. The Yankees are facing an AL Central opponent in the ALDS for the fifth straight year and went 22-14 against such opponents in 2011. New York is 19-8 when playing on Sundays and 44-12 in day games.
Yankees starting pitcher Freddy Garcia finished the regular season with a 12-8 record and 3.62 ERA in 26 appearances (25 starts), picking up a 9-1 win over the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 24. The right-hander tallied and 8-4 mark and 3.98 ERA in 13 home starts, issuing 21 walks and registering 43 strikeouts in 72 1/3 innings. Garcia will be facing the Tigers for the 33rd time in his career, bringing in an 18-8 record and 3.88 ERA, but was handed a 4-0 road loss on May 4. He allowed four runs and a season-high 10 hits over seven innings in that particular contest.
Bettors will likely back the Yankees due to their 7-0 record in divisional playoff games, while the Tigers are 0-4 on the road during the postseason.
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