GAME THREAD: AL: DETROIT (67-55) at NY YANKEES (68-54)

AL: DETROIT at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
DETROIT 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 11 0
NY YANKEES 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 0 x 5 10 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: DET - CHAD DURBIN, TIM BYRDAK (6TH), JASON GRILLI (6TH), BOBBY SEAY
(8TH) AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ

NYY - ROGER CLEMENS, KYLE FARNSWORTH (7TH), LUIS
VIZCAINO (8TH), MARIANO RIVERA (9TH) AND JORGE POSADA


WP - ROGER CLEMENS (5-5)
LP - CHAD DURBIN (7-6)
SAVE - MARIANO RIVERA (20)

HOME RUNS: DET - CAMERON MAYBIN (1) OFF ROGER CLEMENS IN THE 5TH, 0 ON

NYY - JORGE POSADA (15) OFF CHAD DURBIN IN THE 2ND, 0 ON
BOBBY ABREU (14) OFF CHAD DURBIN IN THE 6TH, 1 ON


TIME: 3:13 ATT: 54,802

PROBABLES: DET - JEREMY BONDERMAN (10-5, 4.65)
NYY - CHIEN-MING WANG (13-6, 4.09)</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">DETROIT (2) VS NY YANKEES (5) - FINAL

DETROIT ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Granderson cf 5 0 0 0 0 1 5 .288
M Thames 1b 3 0 0 0 0 2 2 .251
S Casey 1b 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .287
R Santiago pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
G Sheffield dh 5 1 3 0 0 1 1 .283
M Ordonez rf 4 0 0 0 0 3 3 .352
C Guillen ss 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .305
I Rodriguez c 4 0 2 0 0 2 0 .282
R Raburn 2b 3 0 1 1 0 1 2 .341
B Inge 3b 4 0 2 0 0 1 3 .244
C Maybin lf 3 1 2 1 0 1 0 .286

Totals 36 2 11 2 1 12 16

BATTING: 2B - G Sheffield (19, R Clemens). HR - C Maybin (1, 5th inning off R
Clemens 0 on, 0 Out). SF - R Raburn. RBI - R Raburn (15), C Maybin (1). Runners
left in scoring position, 2 out - G Sheffield 1, M Ordonez 2, B Inge 1, C
Granderson 2. Team LOB - 10.

BASERUNNING: SB - G Sheffield (19, 2nd base off R Clemens/J Posada). CS - B
Inge (2, Home by R Clemens/J Posada).


NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
M Cabrera cf 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .297
D Jeter ss 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 .323
B Abreu rf 3 1 1 2 1 0 0 .285
A Rodriguez 3b 4 1 1 0 0 0 2 .304
H Matsui lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .299
J Posada c 4 2 3 1 0 0 0 .336
J Giambi dh 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .273
R Cano 2b 4 0 1 1 0 0 2 .309
A Phillips 1b 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 .286

Totals 34 5 10 5 1 2 11

BATTING: 2B - J Giambi (6, C Durbin). HR - J Posada (15, 2nd inning off C
Durbin 0 on, 2 Out), B Abreu (14, 6th inning off C Durbin 1 on, 0 Out). RBI - J
Posada (70), B Abreu 2 (84), R Cano (70), A Phillips (23). 2-out RBI - J
Posada, R Cano, A Phillips. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A
Rodriguez 1, R Cano 1, M Cabrera 1. Team LOB - 6.

FIELDING: DP: 1 (J Posada-R Clemens).


----------------------------------------------------
DETROIT - 000 110 000 -- 2
NY YANKEES - 010 004 00x -- 5
----------------------------------------------------

DETROIT ip h r er bb so hr era
C Durbin (L, 7-6) 5 6 4 4 1 1 2 4.79
T Byrdak 2/3 2 1 1 0 0 0 3.56
J Grilli 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 5.73
B Seay 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.09

NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era
R Clemens (W, 5-5) 6 10 2 2 0 8 1 3.92
K Farnsworth (H, 12) 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 4.47
L Vizcaino (H, 9) 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.73
M Rivera (S, 20) 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 3.40

C Durbin pitched to 3 batters in the 6th.

HBP - C Maybin (by R Clemens). Pitches-strikes: C Durbin 83-53; T Byrdak
12-6; J Grilli 20-16; B Seay 15-10; R Clemens 108-71; K Farnsworth 18-13; L
Vizcaino 21-14; M Rivera 14-7. Ground balls-fly balls: C Durbin 7-7; T Byrdak
0-2; J Grilli 2-1; B Seay 2-1; R Clemens 4-5; K Farnsworth 0-1; L Vizcaino 0-2;
M Rivera 1-1. Batters faced: C Durbin 22; T Byrdak 4; J Grilli 5; B Seay 4; R
Clemens 28; K Farnsworth 3; L Vizcaino 4; M Rivera 4.

UMPIRES: HP--Jeff Kellogg. 1B--Jerry Layne. 2B--Marvin Hudson. 3B--Chris
Guccione.

T--3:13. Att--54,802.
Weather: 75 degrees, sunny. Wind: 13 mph, left to
right.</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
DETROIT 2
NY YANKEES 5 FINAL</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DETROIT (2) AT NY YANKEES (5) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NY YANKEES 2ND: A Rodriguez lined out to right. H Matsui grounded out to
first. J Posada homered to left. J Giambi doubled to left. R Cano grounded
out to second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, NY YANKEES 1.

DETROIT 4TH: G Sheffield singled to left. M Ordonez struck out swinging.
C Guillen singled to center, G Sheffield to second. I Rodriguez singled to
left, G Sheffield to third, C Guillen to second. R Raburn hit sacrifice fly
to center, G Sheffield scored, C Guillen to third. B Inge flied out to right.
(1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 1, NY YANKEES 1.

DETROIT 5TH: C Maybin homered to center. C Granderson grounded out to
second. M Thames grounded out to shortstop. G Sheffield singled to left.
G Sheffield stole second. M Ordonez grounded out to pitcher. (1 Run, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) DETROIT 2, NY YANKEES 1.

NY YANKEES 6TH: S Casey at first base. D Jeter singled to left. B Abreu
homered to left, D Jeter scored. A Rodriguez singled to center. T Byrdak
relieved C Durbin. H Matsui popped out to shortstop. J Posada reached on
infield single to shortstop, A Rodriguez to second. J Giambi popped out to
shortstop. R Cano singled to left, A Rodriguez scored, J Posada to second.
J Grilli relieved T Byrdak. A Phillips singled to left, J Posada scored,
R Cano to second. M Cabrera struck out swinging. (4 Runs, 6 Hits, 0 Errors)
DETROIT 2, NY YANKEES 5.</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DETROIT (2) AT NY YANKEES (5) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Detroit Starting Lineups -- C Granderson CF, M Thames 1B, G Sheffield DH,
M Ordonez RF, C Guillen SS, I Rodriguez C, R Raburn 2B, B Inge 3B, C Maybin LF,
C Durbin RHP.

Ny Yankees Starting Lineups -- M Cabrera CF, D Jeter SS, B Abreu RF,
A Rodriguez 3B, H Matsui LF, J Posada C, J Giambi DH, R Cano 2B, A Phillips 1B,
R Clemens RHP.

Umpires -- Jeff Kellogg (HP), Jerry Layne (1B), Marvin Hudson (2B),
Chris Guccione (3B).

Gametime Weather: 75 degrees, Sunny, wind left to right at 13 mph.


DETROIT 1ST: C Granderson flied out to center. M Thames struck out
swinging. G Sheffield doubled to deep left. M Ordonez struck out swinging.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, NY YANKEES 0.

NY YANKEES 1ST: M Cabrera fouled out to third. D Jeter flied out to
center. B Abreu flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0,
NY YANKEES 0.

DETROIT 2ND: C Guillen grounded out to second. I Rodriguez struck out
swinging. R Raburn struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0,
NY YANKEES 0.

NY YANKEES 2ND: A Rodriguez lined out to right. H Matsui grounded out to
first. J Posada homered to left. J Giambi doubled to left. R Cano grounded
out to second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, NY YANKEES 1.

DETROIT 3RD: B Inge reached on infield single to third. C Maybin singled
to right center, B Inge to third. C Granderson struck out swinging. M Thames
struck out swinging. B Inge caught stealing home, catcher to pitcher. (0 Runs,
2 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, NY YANKEES 1.

NY YANKEES 3RD: A Phillips grounded out to shortstop. M Cabrera singled to
center. D Jeter flied out to center. B Abreu walked, M Cabrera to second.
A Rodriguez grounded into fielder's choice to third, M Cabrera out at third.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, NY YANKEES 1.

DETROIT 4TH: G Sheffield singled to left. M Ordonez struck out swinging.
C Guillen singled to center, G Sheffield to second. I Rodriguez singled to
left, G Sheffield to third, C Guillen to second. R Raburn hit sacrifice fly
to center, G Sheffield scored, C Guillen to third. B Inge flied out to right.
(1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 1, NY YANKEES 1.

NY YANKEES 4TH: H Matsui grounded out to pitcher. J Posada lined out to
second. J Giambi struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 1,
NY YANKEES 1.

DETROIT 5TH: C Maybin homered to center. C Granderson grounded out to
second. M Thames grounded out to shortstop. G Sheffield singled to left.
G Sheffield stole second. M Ordonez grounded out to pitcher. (1 Run, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) DETROIT 2, NY YANKEES 1.

NY YANKEES 5TH: R Cano flied out to left. A Phillips bunt grounded out
to catcher. M Cabrera grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
DETROIT 2, NY YANKEES 1.

DETROIT 6TH: C Guillen flied out to left. I Rodriguez struck out swinging.
R Raburn singled to left. B Inge reached on infield single to third, R Raburn
to third. C Maybin hit by pitch, B Inge to second. C Granderson popped out
to shortstop. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 2, NY YANKEES 1.

NY YANKEES 6TH: S Casey at first base. D Jeter singled to left. B Abreu
homered to left, D Jeter scored. A Rodriguez singled to center. T Byrdak
relieved C Durbin. H Matsui popped out to shortstop. J Posada reached on
infield single to shortstop, A Rodriguez to second. J Giambi popped out to
shortstop. R Cano singled to left, A Rodriguez scored, J Posada to second.
J Grilli relieved T Byrdak. A Phillips singled to left, J Posada scored,
R Cano to second. M Cabrera struck out swinging. (4 Runs, 6 Hits, 0 Errors)
DETROIT 2, NY YANKEES 5.

DETROIT 7TH: K Farnsworth relieved R Clemens. S Casey flied out to left.
G Sheffield struck out swinging. M Ordonez struck out swinging. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 2, NY YANKEES 5.

NY YANKEES 7TH: D Jeter grounded out to third. B Abreu flied out to
center. A Rodriguez grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
DETROIT 2, NY YANKEES 5.

DETROIT 8TH: L Vizcaino relieved K Farnsworth. C Guillen flied out to
right. I Rodriguez singled to center. R Raburn popped out to second.
B Inge struck out looking. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 2, NY YANKEES 5.

NY YANKEES 8TH: B Seay relieved J Grilli. H Matsui grounded out to first.
J Posada singled to left. J Giambi lined out to center. R Cano grounded into
fielder's choice to third, J Posada out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
DETROIT 2, NY YANKEES 5.

DETROIT 9TH: M Rivera relieved L Vizcaino. C Maybin struck out swinging.
C Granderson flied out to center. S Casey walked. R Santiago ran for S Casey.
R Santiago to second on fielder's indifference. G Sheffield grounded out to
third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 2, NY YANKEES 5.</div>

 

Clemens sharp as Yankees edge Tigers

<h3>NY YANKEES 5, DETROIT 2</h3>By Larry Fleisher
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- Roger Clemens persevered throughanother outing and eventually was rewarded for it.

Clemens worked in and out of trouble through six innings andBobby Abreu hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth asthe New York Yankees rallied for a 5-2 victory over the DetroitTigers on Saturday afternoon.


In his first start in 10 days due to a five-game suspension forintentionally hitting Toronto's Alex Rios with a pitch, Clemens(5-5) tied a season high by recording eight strikeouts but alsoallowed a season-worst 10 hits, including three by former YankeeGary Sheffield and two by rookie Cameron Maybin.


"Sometimes you will your way through games and some are easierthan others," Clemens said. "But I think this is the way it'sgoing to be the rest of the way out. They're all going to betough and the guys are grinding hard to try and make good thingshappen."


"It's so important for him, it's so exciting for him," Yankeesmanager Joe Torre said. "For him to be pitching this long, youhave to make adjustments along the way, and Roger Clemens as ayoungster and even into his early-30s, he was a more power guy.Now he's pitching more to contact in situations more thananything else."


Maybin's second hit was his first career home run, a solo blastin the fifth that went off the top of the center field wall andgave Detroit a 2-1 lead.


The Tigers appeared to be poised for more when Sheffield doubledwith two outs in the inning, but he was stranded as MagglioOrdonez grounded out to first. Detroit also had another chanceto add to its lead when Clemens plunked Maybin to load the baseswith two outs in the sixth, but two pitches later, CurtisGranderson popped out.


"I thought he was using his fastballs a lot better," Yankeescatcher Jorge Posada said. "I thought he was throwing 92, 93(miles-per-hour) consistently, so it was good."


Detroit stranded eight runners and went 1-for-7 with runners inscoring position against Clemens.


"We just didn't hit very good today," Tigers manager Jim Leylandsaid. "We got some hits, but we didn't hit very good. Rogergot some strikeouts when he needed to, which obviously he'sstill capable of doing, but we did a poor job hitting with menon."


Before the sixth, the Tigers' biggest opportunity came in thethird, when they put runners on the corners with none out.

But after Granderson struck out, Clemens fanned former YankeeMarcus Thames. As Maybin attempted to steal second on thepitch, Clemens intercepted Posada's throw to second and chaseddown Brandon Inge, who broke home from third.


"It's a well-executed play," said Inge, a converted catcher. "Ihadn't seen that in a long time. It kind of crossed my mind,too. As Marcus fouled off a pitch, I could see Posada settinghis feet to throw in that direction. I'm curious to see if theychanged it.


"From the way it looked, it looked like Posada was going tothrow to second base. He was setting his feet in thatdirection. But then after that foul ball, they went out and hada discussion between the two of them, and I'm wondering if thatwas set from the beginning or if they may have changed it atthat point."


No matter what the intention, Inge admitted he was just tryingto make something happen.


"Either way, we were just being aggressive with that play," hesaid. "If he set his feet to go to second, then I was going togo no matter what. They made a good play."


According to Fox's telecast, it was the first time in 21 years aplayer had been put out catcher to pitcher on a steal attempt.The last instance occurred on July 22, 1986, when SanFrancisco's Bob Melvin threw out St. Louis' Vince Coleman.

"You've got to tip your hat to Clemens for getting huge outs,"Tigers starter Chad Durbin said. "We had him on the ropes.He's done it before."


For five innings, it appeared Durbin (7-6) was going to overcomehis teammates' futility as he had allowed just four hits,including Posada's 15th home run - a solo shot in the second.

But things quickly unraveled in the sixth for Durbin and theTigers.


Derek Jeter began the comeback with a single to left and Abreucapped a seven-pitch at-bat with a home run that bounced off thefoul pole in left field.


"When he hit and I see it wasn't slicing, you know you're goingto run out of real estate eventually," Torre said. "I just saidto Donnie (bench coach Don Mattingly), 'Wait a minute.' Itjust stayed there. It didn't slice at all."


After Abreu's 14th home run, Alex Rodriguez singled to knock outDurbin, who dropped his third straight start.


The Yankees, who won for the 11th time in 15 games, kept itgoing against reliever Tim Byrdak. The journeyman lefthanderrecorded two outs but also gave up an RBI single to RobinsonCano and was charged with another run when Andy Phillips lined arun-scoring base hit off Jason Grilli.


"They're getting the job done for us, and they did it againtoday," Clemens said. "Give our hitters credit."


After New York rallied, Torre turned things over to strugglingreliever Kyle Farnsworth, who recently lost his role as one ofthe team's setup men.


Farnsworth actually earned some loud cheers from the 54,802 fansat Yankee Stadium when he fanned Sheffield for the second outof the seventh and ended the inning by striking out Ordonez on a98 miles-per-hour fastball.


Luis Vizcaino allowed a hit in the eighth and Mariano Riverahurled a scoreless ninth for his 20th save in 23 opportunitiesas the Yankees (69-54) moved within 4 1/2 games of thefirst-place Boston Red Sox (73-49) in the American League EastDivision.


New York also climbed into a virtual tie for first in the ALwild card race with the Seattle Mariners (67-52).


The Red Sox face the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim laterSaturday night, while the Mariners take on the Chicago WhiteSox.


Ryan Rayburn drove in the other run for Detroit (67-56), whichfell one game behind first-place Cleveland (67-54) in the ALCentral. The Indians are visiting the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

 

Clemens sharp as Yankees edge Tigers

<h3>NY YANKEES 5, DETROIT 2</h3>By Larry Fleisher
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


BRONX, New York (Ticker) --Roger Clemens persevered through another outing and eventuallywas rewarded for it.


Clemens worked in and out of trouble through six innings andBobby Abreu hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth asthe New York Yankees rallied for a 5-2 victory over the DetroitTigers on Saturday afternoon.


In his first start in 10 days due to a five-game suspension forintentionally hitting Toronto's Alex Rios with a pitch, Clemens(5-5) tied a season high by recording eight strikeouts but alsoallowed a season-worst 10 hits, including three by former YankeeGary Sheffield and two by rookie Cameron Maybin.


"Sometimes you will your way through games and some are easierthan others," Clemens said. "But I think this is the way it'sgoing to be the rest of the way out. They're all going to betough and the guys are grinding hard to try and make good thingshappen."


"It's so important for him, it's so exciting for him," Yankeesmanager Joe Torre said. "For him to be pitching this long, youhave to make adjustments along the way, and Roger Clemens as ayoungster and even into his early-30s, he was a more power guy.Now he's pitching more to contact in situations more thananything else."


Maybin's second hit was his first career home run, a solo blastin the fifth that went off the top of the center field wall andgave Detroit a 2-1 lead.


The Tigers appeared to be poised for more when Sheffield doubledwith two outs in the inning, but he was stranded as MagglioOrdonez grounded out to first. Detroit also had another chanceto add to its lead when Clemens plunked Maybin to load the baseswith two outs in the sixth, but two pitches later, CurtisGranderson popped out.


"I thought he was using his fastballs a lot better," Yankeescatcher Jorge Posada said. "I thought he was throwing 92, 93(miles-per-hour) consistently, so it was good."


Detroit stranded eight runners and went 1-for-7 with runners inscoring position against Clemens.


"We just didn't hit very good today," Tigers manager Jim Leylandsaid. "We got some hits, but we didn't hit very good. Rogergot some strikeouts when he needed to, which obviously he'sstill capable of doing, but we did a poor job hitting with menon."


Before the sixth, the Tigers' biggest opportunity came in thethird, when they put runners on the corners with none out.

But after Granderson struck out, Clemens fanned former YankeeMarcus Thames. As Maybin attempted to steal second on thepitch, Clemens intercepted Posada's throw to second and chaseddown Brandon Inge, who broke home from third.


"It's a well-executed play," said Inge, a converted catcher. "Ihadn't seen that in a long time. It kind of crossed my mind,too. As Marcus fouled off a pitch, I could see Posada settinghis feet to throw in that direction. I'm curious to see if theychanged it.


"From the way it looked, it looked like Posada was going tothrow to second base. He was setting his feet in thatdirection. But then after that foul ball, they went out and hada discussion between the two of them, and I'm wondering if thatwas set from the beginning or if they may have changed it atthat point."


No matter what the intention, Inge admitted he was just tryingto make something happen.


"Either way, we were just being aggressive with that play," hesaid. "If he set his feet to go to second, then I was going togo no matter what. They made a good play."


According to Fox's telecast, it was the first time in 21 years aplayer had been put out catcher to pitcher on a steal attempt.The last instance occurred on July 22, 1986, when SanFrancisco's Bob Melvin threw out St. Louis' Vince Coleman.

"You've got to tip your hat to Clemens for getting huge outs,"Tigers starter Chad Durbin said. "We had him on the ropes. He'sdone it before."


For five innings, it appeared Durbin (7-6) was going to overcomehis teammates' futility as he had allowed just four hits,including Posada's 15th home run - a solo shot in the second.

But things quickly unraveled in the sixth for Durbin and theTigers.


Derek Jeter began the comeback with a single to left and Abreucapped a seven-pitch at-bat with a home run that bounced off thefoul pole in left field.


"When he hit and I see it wasn't slicing, you know you're goingto run out of real estate eventually," Torre said. "I just saidto Donnie (bench coach Don Mattingly), 'Wait a minute.' Itjust stayed there. It didn't slice at all."


After Abreu's 14th home run, Alex Rodriguez singled to knock outDurbin, who dropped his third straight start.


The Yankees, who won for the 11th time in 15 games, kept itgoing against reliever Tim Byrdak. The journeyman lefthanderrecorded two outs but also gave up an RBI single to RobinsonCano and was charged with another run when Andy Phillips lined arun-scoring base hit off Jason Grilli.


"They're getting the job done for us, and they did it againtoday," Clemens said. "Give our hitters credit."


After New York rallied, Torre turned things over to strugglingreliever Kyle Farnsworth, who recently lost his role as one ofthe team's setup men.


Farnsworth actually earned some loud cheers from the 54,802 fansat Yankee Stadium when he fanned Sheffield for the second outof the seventh and ended the inning by striking out Ordonez on a98 miles-per-hour fastball.


Luis Vizcaino allowed a hit in the eighth and Mariano Riverahurled a scoreless ninth for his 20th save in 23 opportunitiesas the Yankees (69-54) remained five games of the first-placeBoston Red Sox (74-49) in the American League East Division.

New York is one game behind the the Seattle Mariners (68-52) inthe AL wild card race.


Ryan Rayburn drove in the other run for Detroit (67-56), whichfell one game behind first-place Cleveland (67-54) in the ALCentral. The Indians are visiting the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

 

Clemens sharp as Yankees edge Tigers

<h3>NY YANKEES 5, DETROIT 2</h3>By Larry Fleisher
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- Roger Clemens persevered throughanother outing and eventually was rewarded for it.

Clemens worked in and out of trouble through six innings andBobby Abreu hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth asthe New York Yankees rallied for a 5-2 victory over the DetroitTigers on Saturday afternoon.


In his first start in 10 days due to a five-game suspension forintentionally hitting Toronto's Alex Rios with a pitch, Clemens(5-5) tied a season high by recording eight strikeouts but alsoallowed a season-worst 10 hits, including three by former YankeeGary Sheffield and two by rookie Cameron Maybin.


"Sometimes you will your way through games and some are easierthan others," Clemens said. "But I think this is the way it'sgoing to be the rest of the way out. They're all going to betough and the guys are grinding hard to try and make good thingshappen."


"It's so important for him, it's so exciting for him," Yankeesmanager Joe Torre said. "For him to be pitching this long, youhave to make adjustments along the way, and Roger Clemens as ayoungster and even into his early-30s, he was a more power guy.Now he's pitching more to contact in situations more thananything else."


Maybin's second hit was his first career home run, a solo blastin the fifth that went off the top of the center field wall andgave Detroit a 2-1 lead.


The Tigers appeared to be poised for more when Sheffield doubledwith two outs in the inning, but he was stranded as MagglioOrdonez grounded out to first. Detroit also had another chanceto add to its lead when Clemens plunked Maybin to load the baseswith two outs in the sixth, but two pitches later, CurtisGranderson popped out.


"I thought he was using his fastballs a lot better," Yankeescatcher Jorge Posada said. "I thought he was throwing 92, 93(miles-per-hour) consistently, so it was good."


Detroit stranded eight runners and went 1-for-7 with runners inscoring position against Clemens.


"We just didn't hit very good today," Tigers manager Jim Leylandsaid. "We got some hits, but we didn't hit very good. Rogergot some strikeouts when he needed to, which obviously he'sstill capable of doing, but we did a poor job hitting with menon."


Before the sixth, the Tigers' biggest opportunity came in thethird, when they put runners on the corners with none out.

But after Granderson struck out, Clemens fanned former YankeeMarcus Thames. As Maybin attempted to steal second on thepitch, Clemens intercepted Posada's throw to second and chaseddown Brandon Inge, who broke home from third.


"It's a well-executed play," said Inge, a converted catcher. "Ihadn't seen that in a long time. It kind of crossed my mind,too. As Marcus fouled off a pitch, I could see Posada settinghis feet to throw in that direction. I'm curious to see if theychanged it.


"From the way it looked, it looked like Posada was going tothrow to second base. He was setting his feet in thatdirection. But then after that foul ball, they went out and hada discussion between the two of them, and I'm wondering if thatwas set from the beginning or if they may have changed it atthat point."


No matter what the intention, Inge admitted he was just tryingto make something happen.


"Either way, we were just being aggressive with that play," hesaid. "If he set his feet to go to second, then I was going togo no matter what. They made a good play."


According to Fox's telecast, it was the first time in 21 years aplayer had been put out catcher to pitcher on a steal attempt.The last instance occurred on July 22, 1986, when SanFrancisco's Bob Melvin threw out St. Louis' Vince Coleman.

"You've got to tip your hat to Clemens for getting huge outs,"Tigers starter Chad Durbin said. "We had him on the ropes. He'sdone it before."


For five innings, it appeared Durbin (7-6) was going to overcomehis teammates' futility as he had allowed just four hits,including Posada's 15th home run - a solo shot in the second.

But things quickly unraveled in the sixth for Durbin and theTigers.


Derek Jeter began the comeback with a single to left and Abreucapped a seven-pitch at-bat with a home run that bounced off thefoul pole in left field.


"When he hit and I see it wasn't slicing, you know you're goingto run out of real estate eventually," Torre said. "I just saidto Donnie (bench coach Don Mattingly), 'Wait a minute.' Itjust stayed there. It didn't slice at all."


After Abreu's 14th home run, Alex Rodriguez singled to knock outDurbin, who dropped his third straight start.


The Yankees, who won for the 11th time in 15 games, kept itgoing against reliever Tim Byrdak. The journeyman lefthanderrecorded two outs but also gave up an RBI single to RobinsonCano and was charged with another run when Andy Phillips lined arun-scoring base hit off Jason Grilli.


"They're getting the job done for us, and they did it againtoday," Clemens said. "Give our hitters credit."


After New York rallied, Torre turned things over to strugglingreliever Kyle Farnsworth, who recently lost his role as one ofthe team's setup men.


Farnsworth actually earned some loud cheers from the 54,802 fansat Yankee Stadium when he fanned Sheffield for the second outof the seventh and ended the inning by striking out Ordonez on a98 miles-per-hour fastball.


Luis Vizcaino allowed a hit in the eighth and Mariano Riverahurled a scoreless ninth for his 20th save in 23 opportunitiesas the Yankees (69-54) remained five games of the first-placeBoston Red Sox (74-49) in the American League East Division.

New York is one-half game behind the the Seattle Mariners(68-52) in the AL wild card race.


Ryan Rayburn drove in the other run for Detroit (67-56), whichfell one game behind first-place Cleveland (67-54) in the ALCentral. The Indians are visiting the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.