Yankees beat Tigers, struggling ace Justin Verlander but Mark Teixeira hurts hand
The Yankees notched another victory against a former Cy Young Award winner Wednesday when one of their big winter imports teamed with a scrap heap pitching find in a 5-1 victory over the Tigers.
Brian McCann hit a tie-breaking solo homer in the seventh inning off Detroit's Justin Verlander to back a nifty outing by Chris Capuano, who was making his third start as a Yankee since he was plucked from the Rockies' minor-league system for cash.
But the Yanks' top power hitter, Mark Teixeira, came out of the game after appearing to hurt his left hand in a play at the plate in the eighth inning. Teixeira slid into the left foot of catcher Bryan Holaday and may have been spiked. He could be seen grimacing on replays and did not go back to first base for defense in the ninth inning.
Teixeira was originally called out, but Joe Girardi asked for a review and the call was overturned and Teixeira was safe. But the good feelings from the insurance run won't last if Teixeira is badly hurt.
Capuano gave up an unearned run in the first inning but nothing more in 6.2 innings to improve to 1-1 in pinstripes. Capuano (2-2 overall) allowed five hits while striking out eight and walking one. The 40,067 at the Stadium gave him a warm ovation when he came out of the game.
Chase Headley slugged a solo homer in the fifth to tie the score at 1. In the eighth, Teixeira hit an RBI single, McCann knocked in a run with a fielder's choice and another Yankee run scored on an error to push their lead to 5-1. That meant the game snapped a streak of 16 in a row that were decided by two runs or fewer.
The Yankees made four errors in the field - two on the same play in the eighth by new second baseman Stephen Drew that led to a serious Detroit threat. But only one of the runners who reached on a miscue wound up scoring.
It is the second time in three nights that the Yanks' beat one of Detroit's big trophy-winners - they topped Max Scherzer on Monday. The Yankees also got into extra innings Tuesday before losing, a game started by former Cy Young Award winner David Price.
Verlander (10-10) is having an un-Verlander-like year, but he retired the first 11 Yankees he faced before Jacoby Ellsbury's single to right-center with two out in the fourth. He allowed just five hits and two runs in seven innings, striking out five and walking one, and still has never won a game in the new Yankee Stadium in seven career starts, including the postseason.
Wednesday, the Tigers gave Verlander a 1-0 lead - with a little Yankee help - in the first inning, but he couldn't hold it.
Headley tied the score at 1 with a solo homer into the second deck in right field in the fifth inning, his second home run as a Yankee and ninth overall.
McCann's shot into the Yankee bullpen came with one out in the seventh and was his 13th of the season. He has homered in each of the last two games.
The Tigers scored in the first inning thanks in part to a Derek Jeter error on the first play of the game. Jeter bungled Rajai Davis' routine grounder and Davis advanced on a wild pitch, moved over to third on a grounder and scored on Miguel Cabrera's deep drive to right that was caught by Martin Prado.
Capuano didn't let the rough beginning bother him, though. He pitched around Andrew Romine's two-out double in the second and didn't give up a hit again until a one-out swinging bunt by Ezequiel Carrera in the fifth. Capuano fielded the ball but threw it away and Carrera advanced to second on the error while also getting credited with a single.
But Capuano got out of the inning and threw a 1-2-3 sixth, too, getting some help from Jacoby Ellsbury in center. With two out in the sixth, Detroit's J.D. Martinez launched a drive toward the fence in center that seemed like it'd be an extra-base hit.
But Ellsbury - the one being robbed of extra-base hits lately, not doing the robbing - raced over and leaped at the wall, snaring the ball near the top of the wall to the right of the 385-ft. sign.
Capuano watched the play from a crouch and when he saw that Ellsbury had made the catch, he sprang up, raised his arms in triumph and then pumped his fist.
Carrera made a sensational catch on Monday to steal an extra-base hit from Ellsbury and Boston's Mookie Betts stole another from him last weekend.
Capuano struck out the first two hitters in the seventh inning, but then gave up consecutive singles and Joe Girardi took him out of the game. Adam Warren kept the score tied by retiring Davis on a grounder.
Warren got through the eighth, too, but not before encountering trouble. With one out, he walked Cabrera and then Drew misplayed Victor Martinez's grounder and also made a bad throw and the Tigers had runners on first and third because of the two errors.
Warren fell behind J.D. Martinez, 3-0, but came back to strike him out. Then he fell behind Nick Castellanos, 3-0, too. Castellanos, like J.D. Martinez, swung and missed on 3-0 pitches and Warren got the count full and, after two fouls, retired Castellanos on a fly ball. Warren pumped his fist coming off the mound.
Jeter singled in the sixth inning for his 3,429th career hit, putting him one hit away from tying Honus Wagner for sixth on the all-time list.
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