Wright hit early, Bombers offense struggles again in loss
A season of hope and promise came crashing to an ugly finish on Saturday, as the Yankees were ousted from the postseason by the Tigers.
New York dropped an 8-3 decision to Detroit, as Jeremy Bonderman dominated the Yankees' lineup, following the lead of fellow starters Justin Verlander and Kenny Rogers.
This marks the second consecutive season and third time in five years that the Yankees have been eliminated in the American League Division Series. New York, which hasn't won a World Series title since 2000, now faces another offseason of uncertainty.
Jaret Wright was hit for four runs (three earned) in just 2 2/3 innings, as manager Joe Torre yanked him before the game got out of hand. Cory Lidle appeared to calm things down by retiring the first four hitters he faced, but the Tigers struck him for three runs in the fifth, breaking the game wide open.
Before the game, Torre tried to shake things up by inserting Melky Cabrera into the lineup in left field, putting Gary Sheffield back at first base and dropping Alex Rodriguez to the No. 8 spot in the batting order.
None of it worked, though, as Bonderman came out dealing, retiring the first 15 batters he faced to record five perfect innings. Bonderman pitched 8 1/3 innings, holding the Yankees to two runs on five hits, carrying the Tigers to the AL Championship Series, where they will face the A's.
Rodriguez finished the series 1-for-14, his second dreadful postseason in a row. Last year, he went 2-for-15 in the ALDS loss to the Angels, and he was just 2-for-17 over the final four games of the 2004 ALCS against the Red Sox.
Wright retired the side in order in the first, but Magglio Ordonez put the Tigers on the board with a solo homer to lead off the second. Three batters later, Craig Monroe blasted a two-run shot, giving Detroit a 3-0 lead.
The Yankees' offense barely put up a fight against Bonderman, who threw just 31 pitches through the first four innings and 40 through five.
Detroit added to the lead in the fifth, opening the inning with two runs on four straight hits against Lidle. Ivan Rodriguez tacked on an RBI sacrifice fly to boost the lead to six runs, sending the sellout crowd of 43,126 into an orange towel-waving frenzy.
Robinson Cano broke up the perfect game with a leadoff single in the sixth, but the Tigers tallied another run in the bottom of the inning.
The Yankees finally put a run on the board in the seventh on Hideki Matsui's RBI fielder's choice, but Bonderman avoided a potential rally, getting Cano to fly out with runners on first and second. Jorge Posada added a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth.
