Rick Porcello shines but the Detroit offense struggles as they fall to the New York Yankees for the third game in a row

Miguel Cabrera wasn’t in the lineup for the Detroit Tigers on Thursday against the New York Yankees, and the offense struggled all day at Yankee Stadium as the Tigers (62-50) dropped their third straight to the Yankees (60-54) by the score of 1-0.

Ian Kinsler picked up a couple of hits for Detroit, including a leadoff single in the top of the ninth, igniting what looked to be a rally off Yankees starter Shane Greene. Yankees closer David Robertson replaced Greene and walked Victor Martinez to give the Tigers two on with no out. Cabrera entered the game as the next batter, pinch-hitting for J.D. Martinez.

The reigning American League MVP grounded into his fifteenth double play of the 2014 season, but did advance Kinsler to third base. Don Kelly came to the batter’s box next and with two outs and Kinsler just 90 feet away, Kelly–who played first base for Cabrera on Thursday–popped out to Yankees shortstop Stephen Drew, who was once a hot topic among Tigers’ fans.

Drew also picked up the lone RBI for New York in the bottom of the fourth when he laced a ground-rule double into left field, plating Carlos Beltran to give the Yankees all the runs they would need during the afternoon series finale.

The starting pitching was the story of the game, and Rick Porcello keeps making a push for his name to be on the playoff rotation. The 25-year-old was tremendous through seven innings on the road, allowing only the one run scored by Beltran, while New York sprayed nine hits off Porcello. The right-hander also struck out five batters while walking none. It was his seventh time he didn’t allow a walk in a start this season.

Phil Coke pitched the bottom of the eighth and had great results as he struck out two of the four Yankee batters he faced. Coke’s 4.20 ERA is still one of the worst in the bullpen, but has dropped considerably since his rough start to the season.

The Tigers nine-game road trip continues as they travel west to Toronto to take on the Blue Jays before heading to Pittsburgh. Anibal Sanchez (8-5, 3.37 ERA) is the probable starter for Friday’s game at the Rogers Centre, and he is set to take on former Cy Young award winner R.A. Dickey (9-11, 4.03 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:07 p.m.