Bronx, NY – CC Sabathia threw eight strong innings Sunday for his third straight win, leading the New York Yankees to a 6-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers in the finale of a three-game series.
Sabathia (3-0) struck out eight and gave up just four hits, two walks and two runs.
"He controlled the swings by his location and his changing of speeds," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi.
Curtis Granderson and Andruw Jones had solo homers for the Yankees, who won two out of three in the series, and Alex Rodriguez knocked in two runs to pass Willie Mays on the all-time RBI list.
Prince Fielder had a solo homer for the Tigers, but starter Max Scherzer (1-3) labored through 4 2/3 innings to take the loss. He walked seven batters and gave up three runs and seven hits with four strikeouts.
"He didn't have command," said Tigers manager Jim Leyland. "We walked too many people."
Derek Jeter had two hits, including a single to load the bases for the Yankees in the second inning. Scherzer walked Granderson to force home the first run and Rodriguez followed with a slow bouncer to third base, which Miguel Cabrera was unable to field, allowing another run to score.
Fielder homered into the second deck in right field with two outs in the fourth to get the Tigers on the board, but Granderson responded with a solo shot in the bottom of the inning to give the Yankees a 3-1 lead.
Granderson's eighth homer of the season hit off the glove of center fielder Austin Jackson, who climbed the wall near the New York bullpen to try to make the catch.
Brennan Boesch singled in the sixth and Cabrera followed with a double to the center field wall, pulling the Tigers within 3-2, but the Yankees pushed their lead to 5-2 in the seventh.
Chris Stewart hit a leadoff single against Luke Putkonen, Jeter drew a walk and both runners moved up on Granderson's fly out. The runs scored on Rodriguez's fielder's choice and Robinson Cano's sacrifice fly.
Rodriguez has 1,904 career RBI, one more than Mays for eighth place on the all-time list.
Jones knocked Collin Balester's 3-2 pitch over the left field wall leading off the eighth inning for the Yankees' 6-2 lead and David Robertson pitched a perfect ninth to lock down the win.
Game Notes
Scherzer's ERA climbed from 4.06 to 7.77 in five starts...The Yankees recalled right-handed pitcher D.J. Mitchell from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. They will remain at home for a three-game series against Baltimore starting Monday while the Tigers start a three-game series against Kansas City at home on Monday...Leyland remained on 1,599 wins, tied for 17th most all-time in major league history along with Tommy Lasorda.
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