By Tim Britton / MLB.com NEW YORK -- The Yankees exploded for nine runs in the sixth inning on Thursday to clinch their first series victory in the month of August with an 11-5 rout of the Tigers at Yankee Stadium. The game was tied, 2-2, entering the eventful bottom of the sixth, in which the Yankees sent 13 men to the plate and scored off four different Detroit pitchers. Starter Rick Porcello lost his command in the inning, walking Mark Teixeira after getting ahead, 0-2. After an RBI double by Robinson Cano, Porcello walked Nick Swisher and allowed an RBI single to Jorge Posada on a 3-0 pitch. Swisher had also driven in a run with a single on a 3-0 pitch earlier in the contest. That was it for Porcello, who finished having allowed six runs on six hits in five-plus innings. The Detroit bullpen didn't fare any better in the sixth. Robbie Weinhardt served up a two-run double to Austin Kearns and a two-run triple to Derek Jeter before Eddie Bonine yielded a two-run homer to Cano. The half-inning included three pitching changes, four walks, six hits and 55 pitches in a span of 35 minutes. Porcello had been cruising early, holding the Yankees without a hit for three innings. Teixeira finally notched the Yankees' first hit with a single in the fourth, with Cano and Swisher rapping out their own hits behind him to score the team's first run. Two batters later, Curtis Granderson singled to center to score Cano and tie the game. Phil Hughes allowed only two earned runs on four hits in six innings. Both runs came courtesy of a Miguel Cabrera two-run homer in the first, his fourth homer in the four-game series. Hughes recovered to retire the final 11 Tigers he faced, and he likely would have returned for the seventh if not for the long bottom of the sixth. The right-hander was able to finish hitters off with a lively fastball up in the zone that generated several swings and misses. He struck out six and walked none to pick up his 15th win of the season.
