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New York Yankees Reaction: Kinsler Drives In Five, Winning Streak Snapped At Five (Highlights)

By
Emmanuel Berbari
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Outstanding evenings from Ian Kinsler and Justin Verlander lifted the Detroit Tigers over the New York Yankees in the middle game of the weekend set.

  • Detroit Tigers: 6 (31-30)
  • New York Yankees: 1 (31-31)
  • American League, FINAL, Box Score
  • Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

All good things must come to an end. Unfortunately for the New York Yankees, that saying very much applies to what transpired tonight.

The Yanks had their five game winning streak snapped on the hands of Justin Verlander, Ian Kinsler, and the Detroit Tigers in the middle game of this three-game weekend set in the Bronx.

The teams traded runs early on a Nick Castellanos solo shot and a Rob Refsnyder RBI single, respectively. Those two combined runs held up for a while as Masahiro Tanaka traded zeroes with Verlander in a 1-1 deadlock up until the fifth inning.

However, the tide turned with Justin Upton at third and Jose Iglesias at first in the fifth. With one out, Tanaka missed his spot on a fastball to Ian Kinsler that was hooked inside the left field foul pole for a three-run dinger. The blast gave Detroit a 4-1 lead which they would not relinquish.

Following Tanaka’s departure in the seventh, Kinsler stepped back up against Kirby Yates and doubled in two to extend the lead to 6-1.

Detroit’s second baseman finished the night with five runs batted in to back a dominant Justin Verlander. The 33-year-old right-hander limited the Bombers to one run while striking out five over six and two-thirds strong innings.

One final threat was mounted by the Yanks in the ninth as they loaded the bases with two outs, but Francisco Rodriguez came on to shut the door and collect his 18th save in the process. 

Tanaka Subpar In Loss

Heading into tonight’s start, Masahiro Tanaka had only allowed more than two runs twice in 12 starts this year.

The general trend seemed to be correct through four innings. The right-hander had a control on the game that has been witnessed frequently this year, but lost that grip on one pitch. 

One mistake to Ian Kinsler severely lessened that control for both him and the Yankees. Immediately after the drive hooked inside the pole, the Yanks were in a deficit that would not prove to be surmountable on this night. 

Few times this year has Joe Girardi been able to look back at a game and say that Tanaka got out-dueled. However, Justin Verlander proved to be no match in an outing not too many can say they saw coming. 

What’s Next?

The two clubs will wrap up this three-game set tomorrow afternoon on Old Timers’ Day at Yankee Stadium.

Michael Pineda (3-6, 6.14 ERA) will take the ball for New York opposing Michael Fulmer (6-1, 2.83 ERA) in the rubber game.

Pineda struggled mightily to start his 2016 campaign, but has shown positive signs of late. The turnaround began in the makeup game that the Yanks and Tigers played at Comerica Park back on June 2. After turning in a solid outing in that game, he proceeded to pick up a victory in his last start against the Angels. The right-hander fired seven strong innings in the midst of the recent four game sweep of the Halos.

His opposition, Michael Fulmer, was shipped to Detroit in the Yoenis Cespedes trade last July. In eight starts since being promoted, he has been straight dominant. The 23-year-old has not allowed a run over his last three starts, coming out victorious against the A’s, Angels, and Blue Jays. Let’s just say the kid has shown the potential to be a big-time starting pitcher in the bigs.

First pitch will commence at 2:05 pm ET following the festivities in the Bronx. YES will have coverage of the Old Timers’ Day introductions and game starting at 11:00 am, and will proceed to have coverage of the series finale. 

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