Detroit @ New York preview
Yankee Stadium
Last Meeting ( Aug 18, 2010 ) Detroit 5, NY Yankees 9
Having Alex Rodriguez on the sidelines has not slowed down the New York Yankees' high-octane offense one bit.
The Yankees look for their third straight win Thursday when they host the Detroit Tigers in the finale of their four-game series.
Rodriguez left Monday's series-opening loss with a strained calf and sat out the next two contests. New York has not missed a beat, totaling five home runs, 15 runs and 18 hits in a pair of victories.
Robinson Cano and former Tiger Curtis Granderson, who is 5-for-10 in the series, homered in each of the wins and Mark Teixeira belted his team-leading 27th on Wednesday. Teixeira also singled and doubled in the Yankees' 9-5 victory, falling a triple shy of the cycle.
With Rodriguez missing from New York's lineup, Detroit's Miguel Cabrera has taken advantage. The slugger hit a pair of solo homers Wednesday, pushing his RBI total to a major league-leading 98 – one more than Rodriguez.
The two home runs gave Cabrera 30 on the season, making him the first Tiger to reach the plateau in three consecutive years since Tony Clark accomplished the feat from 1997-99.
Earlier in the day, the Tigers placed infielder Carlos Guillen on the disabled list with a bruised knee suffered when Brett Gardner slid hard into second base attempting to break up a game-ending double play Monday night. Detroit starter Jeremy Bonderman had revenge on his mind, hitting Gardner with his first pitch of Wednesday's game.
Both benches were warned, but New York's Chad Gaudin plunked Cabrera in the eighth inning and Detroit's Enrique Gonzalez threw behind Derek Jeter in the bottom of the frame. Tigers manager Jim Leyland was ejected in the middle of the inning after arguing that Gaudin warranted an ejection for his actions.
The Yankees, who are tied with Tampa Bay atop the American League East, will try to clinch the series when Phil Hughes (14-5) takes the mound.
Hughes has alternated wins and losses over his last nine decisions, going 5-4 during that span. The 24-year old allowed three runs and nine hits in six innings Saturday but picked up the win in an 8-3 triumph at Kansas City.
The right-hander owns a 3-2 record and 3.86 ERA in six games, including two relief appearances, against the Tigers. He scattered five hits over seven scoreless innings in an 8-0 victory in the second game of a doubleheader at Detroit on May 12.
In 13 home starts this year, Hughes has gone 8-3 with a 4.79 ERA.
Opposing Hughes will be Rick Porcello (5-10). The 21-year-old lost six straight decisions before halting the skid against the Los Angeles Angels on August 8. He settled for a no-decision against the Chicago White Sox on Saturday, yielding two runs and nine hits in seven innings of Detroit's 3-2 win.
Porcello is 1-1 with a 5.06 ERA in two career outings against New York. He was brilliant in the first game of the doubleheader on May 12, limiting the Yankees to four hits over seven frames as the Tigers posted a 2-0 victory.
Porcello will be making his ninth start on the road this year. The right-hander is just 1-5 with a 6.35 ERA away from Detroit.