Detroit Tigers, Mlb Playoffs | featured news

The 2012 Yankees will be remembered for hitting a record number of regular season home runs before experiencing the kind of sudden outage rivaling any blackout in the history of New York.

The Detroit Tigers got a big boost from Anibal Sanchez's arm. They got a helping hand from an umpire, too. The reward: a commanding 2-0 lead in the AL championship series, and a trip home with their ace ready to start. Sanchez shut down a Yankees lineup minus injured Derek Jeter, Detroit scored twice after an admitted missed call by an ump and won without any extra-inning drama, beating New York 3-0 Sunday.

On a cool, dark autumn night, the stars shined bright and brilliant in the Bronx. But the biggest ones in pinstripes watched the dramatic conclusion from the afar — shortstop Derek Jeter injured and third baseman Alex Rodriguez benched — while Detroit’s finest, Miguel Cabrera, scored the winning run in extra innings.

With Alex Rodriguez benched, the Yankees advanced to the AL championship series against the Detroit Tigers, starting Saturday night in the Bronx. "It is still a long way to go," Sabathia said. "I still got hopefully three or four more starts. So the job is not done yet."

Injured, exhausted and facing elimination, the Detroit Tigers went into what could have been their final game of the season needing a strong performance from their ace, Justin Verlander, a revival of their offense and maybe a little luck to stay alive.

Mike Napoli drove in the go-ahead run, then Nelson Cruz added a three-run homer in the 11th inning as the Rangers took a 3-1 series lead. Game 5 is scheduled for Thursday.

Victor Martinez slowed his home run trot to barely a jog, stepping gingerly around the bases after hurting himself with a big swing. The banged-up Detroit Tigers are teetering but still standing, thanks to Martinez, Miguel Cabrera and another pivotal performance on the mound by Doug Fister.

Nelson Cruz hit the first game-ending grand slam in postseason history, lifting the defending American League champions over the Detroit Tigers 7-3 in 11 innings Monday for a 2-0 series lead.

Justin Verlander was dominant enough for the Tigers while C.C. Sabathia struggled in the matchup of aces that was washed out in Game 1. Game 4 of the best-of-five division series is Tuesday.

The playoff opener between the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees was suspended because of rain in the second inning Friday night, probably wiping out the ace of each pitching staff for a few days.