You've heard of walk-off home runs, but how about a walk-off passed ball?
The Detroit Tigers let an early lead slip away in the eighth inning and then lost the game in a flash when Derek Jeter scampered home on a passed ball in the bottom of the ninth inning. Detroit relief pitcher Bryan Villareal struggled in Yankee Stadium as he tried to send the game into extra innings but just couldn't find the strike zone.
With one out in the ninth, Villareal walked Jeter who then advanced to third base after Villareal walked Curtis Granderson with a wild pitch on ball four. Then with Alex Rodriguez at the plate, a 2-0 pitch from Villareal bounced of the mitt of catcher Alex Avila allowing the Yankees to score without a hit in the inning.
Starting pitchers Justin Verlander couldn't take advantage of an early 6-4 lead, giving way to the bullpen after six innings.
The Tigers will have to shake off the difficult loss quickly as they are back in action against the Yankees on Saturday afternoon at 4:05 p.m. ET.
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