Fri May 9 22:30:25 2008

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Tigers stave off Yankees

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Detroit, MI (Sports Network) - Ivan Rodriguez was 3-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs as Detroit held off New York, 6-5, in the opener of a three-game set at Comerica Park.

Placido Polanco and Magglio Ordonez each finished 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Tigers, who won for just the second time in eight games but beat New York for the fourth consecutive time this season

Kenny Rogers (3-3) allowed just two runs on nine hits in six-plus innings to earn the win.

Jason Giambi was 2-for-4 with a home run for the Yankees, who have dropped three of four games. Chad Moeller, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter and Bobby Abreu added an RBI apiece for New York, while Hideki Matsui finished 0-for-4, snapping a career-best 17-game hitting streak.

Kei Igawa (0-1), who was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre before the game, made his season debut and was rocked for six runs on 11 hits in just three-plus innings of work.

Igawa was already a huge bust for the Yankees last season after the team spent $26 million to negotiate with him before signing the Japanese star to a five- year, $20 million contract.

With the game deadlocked at one, Detroit went in front for good with three runs in the third. Ryan Raburn started things with an infield single and Rodriguez followed with an RBI double to left.

Polanco kept things going with a bunt single to third. After Carlos Guillen popped out to short, Ordonez slapped a run-scoring single to left. Gary Sheffield then capped the inning with a two-out double to left that scored Polanco.

The Tigers continued to tee-off on the overmatched Igawa in the fourth. Marcus Thames, Raburn, Rodriguez and Polanco started the inning with four consecutive singles, putting two more runs on the board to make it a 6-1 game.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi mercifully pulled Igawa at that point and went to Jonathan Albaladejo, who managed to wiggle out of the trouble with no further damage.

New York finally got back on the board in the seventh. Cano ripped a ground- rule double to center that chased Rogers from the game. Zach Miner came on and uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Cano to move up 90-feet, before Moeller served an RBI single into right to make it 6-2.

Miner settled down from there to get through the rest of the seventh and eighth before the Yankees threatened to deadlock things against closer Todd Jones in the ninth.

Wilson Betemit greeted Jones with a double to left, advanced to third on a wild pitch and crossed the plate on Cano's ground ball to short.

Pinch hitter Johnny Damon then got on with an infield single, moved to second on another wild pitch and advanced to third on Melky Cabrera's grounder, before Jeter laced a two-out RBI single to left. Abreu followed by slicing an RBI double just inside the left field line, bringing Matsui to the plate with the tying run in scoring position.

The Tigers elected to walk Matsui, ending his long hitting streak, and pitch to Shelley Duncan, who lined out to Curtis Granderson in center to end things.

The Tigers jumped on top with a run in the first. Rodriguez led off the frame by ripping a double to left-center, advanced to third when Polanco bounced back to the box and crossed the plate on Guillen's sacrifice fly to center.

The Yankees quickly deadlocked things when Giambi drove a Rogers fastball deep over the wall in right for his seventh home run of the year.

Game Notes

Albaladejo was forced to leave the game in the bottom of the sixth inning with a right-hand injury...Igawa was 3-3 with a 3.86 ERA this year at Scranton/Wilkes Barre...To make room for Igawa, New York optioned reliever Chris Britton to Scranton...Yankees reliever Kyle Farnsworth had his suspension reduced from three games to one by MLB on Friday. The hard-throwing Farnsworth, who was suspended for throwing behind the head of Boston's Manny Ramirez last month, served the suspension during this game...Sheffield's RBI was the 1,583rd of his career, tying AL Kaline for 35th on the all-time list.