Detroit, MI (SportsNetwork.com) – Mark Teixeira and Gregorio Petit each drove
in three runs and the New York Yankees bombarded David Price en route to a
13-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers at a chilly Comerica Park.
Petit’s bases-clearing double highlighted a six-run first inning that fueled
the Yankees to a fifth win in six games, with Teixeira putting the exclamation
point on the rout with a three-run homer in the seventh.
Chase Headley and Didi Gregorius had two RBI as part of New York’s 15-hit
barrage. Chris Young went 3-for-6 with two runs scored, while Brian McCann and
Carlos Beltran each finished with a pair of hits and an RBI.
Most of the Yankees’ damage came against Price (1-1), pounded for eight runs
and 10 hits in a mere 2 1/3 innings of work. The former AL Cy Young Award
winner had surrendered only one earned run over a combined 22 1/3 innings in
his first three starts of the season.
New York starter Adam Warren (1-1) endured an awful first inning as well
before settling down to throw 5 2/3 frames and give up four runs, all of which
came in the opening frame.
Yoenis Cespedes paced Detroit, which lost consecutive games for the first time
this season, with two hits and an RBI.
Price struggled greatly with his command in the near-freezing temperatures,
especially during a 51-pitch first inning in which the Yankees sent 11 men to
the plate.
He hit Jacoby Ellsbury to start the game and later walked Teixeira around a
Young single to load the bases with one out. After singles by McCann and
Headley resulted in the first two New York runs, Petit hammered a pitch to the
wall in left center that cleared the sacks for a quick 5-0 lead before
crossing the plate on an Ellsbury base hit.
Warren had plenty of problems throwing strikes early as well, issuing walks to
four of Detroit’s first five hitters to force in a run. Cespedes followed with
an infield hit that plated Miguel Cabrera, and another scored on Nick
Castellanos’ fielder’s choice grounder that preceded Alex Avila’s single to
left that trimmed the deficit to 6-4.
Price appeared to have righted himself by getting two swift outs to begin the
second, but McCann singled in front of consecutive triples from Beltran and
Headley that extended New York’s advantage to 8-4. The ace lefty was removed
with one out in the third after surrendering two more hits that reliever Angel
Nesbitt left stranded.
Warren was able to get himself back on track, yielding just three hits and not
allowing a runner past first over the remainder of his outing.
Gregorius put the Yankees further in front with a two-out double off Nesbitt
in the fourth that brought home Beltran and Headley, who reached on a costly
error by Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias on a potential double-play ball.
A Young single and a walk to Alex Rodriguez in the seventh set up Teixeira’s
fifth homer of the season, a towering blast off Al Alburquerque that increased
the lead to 13-4.
Game Notes
Price suffered a nearly identical fate in his previous start against the
Yankees, who torched him for eight runs and 12 hits over two innings at
Comerica Park last August .. Teixeira recorded an RBI for a fifth straight
game, having knocked in eight runs over that stretch … Warren picked up his
first win on the road since Sept. 27, 2013 at Houston … Cespedes now has
nine RBI over Detroit’s last four games … Castellanos finished 0-for-4 with
three strikeouts to have his career-high nine-game hitting streak snapped.
