Bronx, NY – Bronx, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Alex Avila's solo home run in the top of the 12th inning put the Detroit Tigers ahead for good in a 4-3 come-from-behind decision over the New York Yankees.
Avila, who earlier came through with an RBI single that tied the contest in the seventh inning, belted an offering from Matt Daley (0-1) into the bleachers in right center to make David Price's first outing as a Tiger a victorious one, though the newly acquired hurler ultimately didn't factor in the final outcome.
Price made a strong initial impression, however, racking up 10 strikeouts while allowing three runs in 8 2/3 innings. Two of the eight hits the former Tampa Bay ace surrendered were solo homers by Brian McCann and Martin Prado.
"He really did a fantastic job," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said of Price. "He gave us a chance to win, unfortunately we didn't get him the win but we did get the win."
Andrew Romine also had a solo homer to help the Tigers bounce back from a 2-1 setback in Monday's opener of this four-game set. Victor Martinez contributed two hits and an RBI to the triumph.
Prado and Jacoby Ellsbury each finished 2-for-5 with an RBI for New York, which had a three-game winning streak halted. Hiroki Kuroda matched Price through the first seven innings, yielding three runs on six hits.
"We fought them for 12 innings," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "It's a tough loss, but we'll bounce back."
Price had been on the hook for a loss in his Detroit debut before his new teammates struck for single runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to erase a 3-1 deficit.
Romine ended a string of 14 consecutive outs recorded by Kuroda by clubbing a slider into the right-field seats to get the Tigers within a run, while Avila's two-out hard single to right in the seventh brought in Martinez from second and knotted the score.
It remained deadlocked until Avila swatted his eighth homer of the season with one out in the top of the 12th, shortly after Joakim Soria (2-4) retired the Yankees in order during his lone inning of work.
Joe Nathan followed with a 1-2-3 bottom of the 12th to record his 23rd save, surviving a scare on a deep fly ball from New York's Chase Headley that was hauled in by J.D. Martinez at the wall for the first out.
Kuroda gave up singles to two of the first three Detroit hitters, which was followed by Victor Martinez's run-producing groundout that quickly sent the Tigers ahead. The veteran didn't permit another baserunner until Romine's homer, however, to help enable the Yankees to surge in front.
McCann evened the game with a second-inning blast off the second-deck facade in right, and the light-hitting Brendan Ryan drilled a double off Price to open the bottom of the third before eventually scoring the go-ahead run.
Price got the next two out to briefly keep Ryan on the basepaths, but Ellsbury sliced a pitch just inside the third-base bag for a double and a 2-1 Yankees' edge.
Prado hammered a 2-0 fastball from Price over the wall in left to extend New York's margin in the fifth.
Game Notes
The Yankees have been involved in 16 straight games decided by two runs or less, the longest streak by any team since a 16-game run by Baltimore in 1975 ... Price has now allowed three earned runs or fewer in a career-best 13 consecutive starts ... Detroit reliever Joba Chamberlain, who spent his first seven major league seasons with the Yankees, tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of Price while facing his ex-team for the first time ... Tigers right fielder Torii Hunter left the game in the ninth inning after being hit in the left hand by a Dellin Betances pitch ... McCann has now homered three times off Price this season.
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