Even on a day when their ace was on the mound and a former Detroit great was honored with a retirement ceremony before the game, the Tigers still couldn't find a way to get the better of the New York Yankees in a 5-1 series-ending loss on Sunday.
Detroit starter Justin Verlander was stunned immediately on the very first pitch he threw as Yankees lead-off hitter Derek Jeter pounded the ball to right field for a solo home run, as the visitors quickly set the tone against the Tigers' ace. Verlander gave up nine hits over 6.1 innings and tied a season-high with five runs allowed before exiting in the seventh after 114 pitches.
Aside from a Prince Fielder moon shot to right field in the fourth inning that finally put Detroit on the scoreboard, it was a largely quiet day for Tiger bats against New York hurler Phil Hughes. In addition to only giving up four hits over the full nine innings for his second career complete game, Hughes fanned eight Detroit hitters en route to his fifth victory of the season.
Now sitting at 25-29 and visibly struggling to crawl their way back to a .500 record, the Tigers will receive a much-needed rest day on Monday before welcoming the AL Central rival Cleveland Indians to town for a three-game series that opens Tuesday.
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