DETROIT 2 NEW YORK 1
(TIGERS LEAD SERIES 3-0)
Justin Verlander and Detroit's stellar starters are one win from the World Series.
Verlander took a shutout into the ninth inning and the Tigers held on to beat the New York Yankees 2-1 Tuesday night for a 3-0 lead in the AL championship series.
Phil Coke gave up consecutive singles with two outs in the ninth before striking out post-season star Raul Ibanez for his second save in two games. Detroit can complete a sweep and earn its second pennant in seven years tonight when Max Scherzer pitches against Yankees ace CC Sabathia.
"We put ourselves in a decent position, but that's all we have done," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said.
Verlander allowed only a pair of singles by Ichiro Suzuki and a leadoff homer by Eduardo Nunez in the ninth. Delmon Young hit a solo home run for the Tigers, and Miguel Cabrera had an RBI double.
Yankees starter Phil Hughes was lifted in the fourth because of a stiff back, and manager Joe Girardi's lineup shuffle - Alex Rodriguez was benched again - failed to snap New York out of its untimely hitting funk.
"There were some good at-bats tonight. The ball was not carrying tremendously well tonight, we know that," Girardi said. "But I think he ended up with three strikeouts. So our guys put the ball in play and tried to get on base, but, you know, when you face Verlander, you know what you're up against."
Seeking their first World Series title since 1984, the Tigers were on a historic pitching run even before their ace took the mound Tuesday. With the exception of a four-run ninth inning against Detroit closer Jose Valverde in Game 1, New York had been shut out for the entire series.
Nunez's homer snapped a streak of 37 innings by Detroit starters without allowing an earned run, the longest in a single post-season in the live-ball era.
Verlander fell just short of a second straight shutout after stopping the Oakland Athletics in the decisive fifth game of the division series. He struck out only three but kept New York off the scoreboard until the homer to left field by Nunez, the first run allowed by the powerful right-hander since he gave up a leadoff homer to Coco Crisp in Game 1 of the ALDS.
Verlander got Brett Gardner on a tapper before he was lifted after 132 pitches, one shy of his career high set in Game 5 of last year's ALCS against Texas.
"Normally I guess you don't take Secretariat out in the final furlong, but that was pretty much it for him," Leyland said.
Coke came in and allowed two-out hits to Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano, with the latter snapping a drought of 29 at-bats without a hit. With an anxious Ver-lander pacing in the dugout and rubbing the bald head of a teammate, Ibanez - who hit tying and winning homers in the same game in the ALDS against Baltimore - struck out swinging at a breaking ball to end it.
"I've got faith in our bullpen. Coke has done a great job for us all year, so I was OK with it," Verlander said. "And I was up around 130 pitches."
