Tigers Shutout Yankees Again

New York 0, Detroit 6 (box)

The New York Yankees hadn’t been shutout once all season before they came to Detroit, now in the span of two days (three games), the Yankees have been blanked twice.

In a match-up of elite aces, Justin Verlander got the better of his lefthanded counterpart, CC Sabathia. Verlander (4-2) battled his pitch count, as usual, but kept the Yankee hitters off balance and generally off the bases as well. The heart of the Yankees lineup, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, and Robinson Cano, combined to go hitless in 10 at bats.

Sabathia (4-2), while much more efficient, didn’t have the same success as Verlander. Hell, even Adam Everett got a hit against him.

The Tigers jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when Gerald Laird singled home a run with two outs in the second. Two innings later, Miguel Cabrera and Brennan Boesch went deep, back-to-back style, to put the Tigers up by three. Detroit added to the lead with a pair of doubles in the sixth, Cabrera driving in a pair with his, and Laird bringing him home with a double of his own.

After that, it was all over for the Yankees. Joel Zumaya relieved Verlander in the seventh, and worked 1.1 hitless frames. Eddie Bonine then pitched a perfect ninth, lowing his ERA to a minuscule 0.96 on the year.

Cheers and Jeers after the jump.

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Cheers for

• Miguel Cabrera– El Martillo added two more hits today and raised his league leading batting average to a robust .376. His three RBI gives him a league-best 36 already. At this point, not only is Cabrera the runaway leader for MVP, but we may start to hear talk of a triple crown soon. Dare to dream.
• Brennan Boesch– Boesch doubled and homered in his first two at bats against the southpaw. I hope Carlos Guillen takes his time getting back. Any chance they would consider using Guillen as a utility infielder? I doubt it, but they have got to find a way to keep Boesch in the lineup if he plans to keep hitting like this.
• Gerald Laird– See what happens when I bad mouth Laird? He comes through with two hits and a pair of two-out RBI, which as we all know, will get you to heaven. Don’t look now, but G-Money’s batting average is creeping closer to .180.

Jeers for

• Brandon Inge– Speaking of averages creeping closer to .180, Inge was hitless again today. Seriously, I think Guillen can probably still play third, can’t he? Sure, a few more balls would get through the infield, but c’mon, Inge has been terrible at the plate… Like worse than usual.

What’s on tap?

The Tigers open a weekend series with the RedSox starting tomorrow night at the CoPa. I’m sure I’ll have some interesting things to say before the game so check back here on Friday. In the meantime, let’s revel in the wake of trouncing the Yankees.

You know what the only thing better than a Tigers win is don’t you? A Tigers win over the Yankees. Taking three of four including two via shutout is so much better than even that.