12 pitches. That's all arguably the best closer ever needed to close to door on the Tigers on Opening Day. One of those pitches was sent a long way to center field off of the bat of Brandon Inge, but former Tiger Curtis Granderson capped off a nice game by making a running, over-the-shoulder grab for the second out of the inning.
Rivera ended the game in fitting fashion by striking out Alex Avila looking. Fitting because it capped off a horrendous start to the season for Alex Avila (three K's, passed ball, bad throw on a steal attempt, just bad, bad, bad, bad on a day he probably shouldn't have even been playing.)
Phil Coke picked up the loss for the Tigers. It's interesting to note that he started last year 5-0 before picking up his first loss on July 17. Joba Chamberlain picked up the win for the Yankees and Rivera, of course, got the save. The Tigers actually had more hits than the Yankees today (6-5), but the long ball killed them, as four of the Yankees runs came off just two swings.
The Tigers are off tomorrow and pick up this three-game series with the Yanks on Saturday at 4:10 p.m. on FOX.