Detroit Tigers hammer New York Yankees, 10-3: Game thread recap
Detroit Tigers (63-76) vs New York Yankees (70-69)
When: 7:05 p.m. Thursday.
Where: Yankee Stadium in New York.
TV: Bally Sports Detroit.
Radio: WXYT-AM (1270 in Detroit; Tigers radio affiliates).
Probable pitchers: Tigers LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (10-7, 3.11 ERA) vs. Yankees LHP Carlos Rodón (2-4, 5.70).
Tigers lineup:
1. CF Matt Vierling.
2. 1B Spencer Torkelson.
3. 2B Andy Ibáñez.
4. C Jake Rogers.
5. DH Miguel Cabrera.
6. RF Kerry Carpenter.
7. SS Javier Báez.
8. LF Tyler Nevin.
9. 3B Andre Lipcius.
LHP Eduardo Rodriguez.
TRENDING: Matt Manning out for season with another broken foot after comebacker vs. Yankees
Who to follow: Evan Petzold, Free Press beat writer on Tigers.
Game notes: If Scott Harris needs an argument against spending some of Christopher Ilitch’s bucks on a free-agent starter this offseason — whether or not Eduardo Rodriguez opts out — he need look only as far as tonight’s starter for the Yankees, Carlos Rodón. The lefty signed a six-year, $162 million deal with the Yanks despite a history of injuries that cost him most of the 2017, 2019 and 2020 seasons. But his 2.67 ERA and back-to-back top-six finishes in Cy Young voting proved too alluring, less than two weeks after his 30th birthday. And sure enough, Rodón has been almost equal parts injured and ineffective, with two stints on the injured list (forearm to open the season, hamstring in August) and four of his nine starts featuring four or more runs allowed.
Rodón has a 4.04 ERA in 78 career innings against the Tigers, but he’s been much more dominant against the current roster, Miguel Cabrera excepted. Miggy is 9-for-25 with two homers, three walks and 10 strikeouts (though his most recent homer off Rodón came in 2019). The seven other Tigers who’ve faced the lefty are a combined 2-for-30, with both hits belonging to Javier Báez. Carson Kelly, who started Wednesday night and is unlikely to go Thursday, is 0-for-9 with a hit-by-pitch. Ouch.
For the Tigers, Eduardo Rodriguez goes for his 11th win of the season — no Tiger has won that many since Michael Fulmer (11) and Justin Verlander (16) in 2016. He’ll do it against a Yankees squad that hasn’t faced him since April 20, 2022, in Detroit. That day, E-Rod went six innings and allowed three runs on four hits and one walk while striking out five. Rodriguez kept almost all of the Yankees in the ballpark — other than Anthony Rizzo, who’ll miss today’s game with post-concussion syndrome — though he allowed an RBI double to Aaron Judge. After Wednesday's loss, the Tigers have dropped eight straight at Yankee Stadium, with their most recent win coming on April 3, 2019, and the skid spanning a COVID-disrupted season (2019) and a pair of series sweeps (2021 and 2022).
Perhaps the best news for the Tigers, win or lose tonight, is that it’s their last game against the behemoth American League East; against the five teams in MLB’s best division, the Tigers are 6-25 — 1-6 against Baltimore, 1-5 against Boston, 1-5 against New York, 1-5 against Tampa Bay and 2-4 against Toronto. Against the rest of baseball, the Tigers are 57-51, including a 28-15 mark against their own AL Central. They’ll return to AL Central play beginning Friday with a three-game series against the woeful Chicago White Sox in Detroit; the Tigers swept the ChiSox in three games last weekend. The Yankees, meanwhile, host the Milwaukee Brewers for a three-game set beginning Friday.
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Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @theford. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers beat New York Yankees, 10-3: Game thread recap
