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Detroit Tigers’ Top 5 Recent Yankee Domination Moments

By Steve Mitzel |
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The Detroit Tigers have owned the New York Yankees in their last decade.  Maybe not in regular season matches, but in the postseason when it counts. It gives me great pleasure living in Connecticut to have the home team represent so well when I am wearing the Old English D around.

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About eight years ago, in a galaxy far far away before the resurgence of the Tigers,  I took my kids down for their first Yankees game at the old Yankee Stadium.  I had heard horrible things about Yankee fans and how nasty and brutal they were.  We were on the Subway up to the Bronx all four of us sporting the Tiger gear.  Here it comes I thought.  “Hey is Fidrych pitching tonight?”  Seriously that was all they had?  It truly was.  Over the course of the last eight years the Yankees fans have been great hosts as I’ve seen the Tigers dominate there.

Over the past ten years the Tigers have been a thorn in the Yankees side and deterred them from post season advances three times.  While they are about .500 over the past 5 years, I think it’s fair to say the Tigers have “owned” the Yankees.

Let’s take a look at the Top 5 recent Tiger versus Yankee moments:

5. August 11, 2013 – An injured Miguel Cabrera comes up in the top of the ninth, the Tigers down 3-1, two outs, man on second.  Miggy is facing the always dominant Mariano Rivera.  First basemen barely Lyle Overbay misses a foul ball in the dugout on the first pitch.  Mariano takes Cabrera to 0-2.  Cabrera fouls off the fourth pitch hard off his knee.  Miguel takes a 2-2 pitch to straight away center  over 410 feet in Yankee Stadium to tie the game up with a two run blast.  Mario Impemba exclaims “Unbelievable!  He did it again!  You want some of this, come get some!”

This 5 minute at bat is amongst Cabrera’s greatest as a Tiger.  The Tigers went on to lose the game in extra innings, but who cares!?!?  Click here to watch and listen to Mario’s play by play.

Credit: Flickr, Creative Commons – Kevin Ward

4.  October 6, 2006 – Kenny Rogers pitches near perfection with five hits, eight strike outs  over 7  2/3 innings to lead the Tigers to a 6-0 victory and take the series lead 2-1 and home field advantage from the Yankees.  Kenny Rogers domination in the post season continued against the Oakland A’s in the American League Championship Series and the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.  Rogers was accused of using pine tar and dirt on his hands after shutting out the Cardinals and extending his shut out streak in the 2006 post season to 23 innings.

But it started against the Yankees…striking out Johnny Damon, Bobby Abreu, Jason Giambi, Bernie Williams, Robinson Cano.  Indeed a great night for the Tigers in their recent Yankee history.

Watch Bernie Williams final at bat here against Kenny Rogers.

Credit: Flickr Creative Commons, – Kevin Ward

3.  October 2006 – Detroit Tigers Defeat New York Yankees in American League Division Series.  The Tigers entered the 2006 post season as the underdog facing the favored New York Yankees.  Few sportswriters and fans even gave the Tigers a chance in the series.  The Yankees jumped all over Nate Robertson and the Tigers and dominated Game 1 with an  8-4 bashing.

Game 2 saw Rookie of the Year, Justin Verlander facing veteran Mike Mussina.  Verlander pitched well in his post season debut but left the game in the fifth inning tied 3-3.  A Curtis Granderson triple scored Marcus Thames in the top of the seventh and Todd “Tiger” Jones closed it out.

Game 3 was the pure domination from Kenny Rogers.

The Tigers took a 2-1 lead into Comerica Park for Game 4 and a dominant Jeremy Bonderman finished the Yankees off along with home runs from Magglio Ordonez and Craig Monroe.  The Tigers advanced to face the Oakland A’s in the ALCS with an 8-3 win and a 3-1 series win.

Watch the Tigers KO the Yankees here

Credit: Flickr, Creative Commons – Keith Allison

2.  October 2011 – Five years later the Yankees were drooling at their chance for revenge in the American League Division Series.  The Yankees and Tigers both finished with 95 plus wins and the Yankees were the favorite with home field advantage again.  The Yankees again dominated the Tigers 9-3 in Game 1 defeating Justin Verlander who was replaced by Doug Fister after a lenghty rain delay.  The dynamic duo Max Scherzer and Miguel Cabrera stole Game 2 from the Yankees in the Bronx winning 5-3.

Verlander returned in Game 3 after only pitching one inning in Game 1.  Verlander pitched a gem and defeated the Yankees and C.C. Sabathia.  Mr. October, Delmon  Young, hit his second home run of the series for the Tigers and “Papa Grande” Jose Valverde recorded his 50th save in as many attempts in the 2011 season.

The Yankees crushed the Tigers and Rick Porcello in the final game at Comerica Park 10-1 to send the series back to New York.  The Yankees late rally off the tandem of Phil Coke and Al Alburquerque (sound familiar) put the game out of reach.

Game 5 saw Don Kelly and Delmon Young hit back to back home runs in the first inning to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead they never surrendered in their 3-2 victory over the Yankees at home.  The Yankees threw C.C. Sabathia in relief and it was Mariano Rivera‘s final post season game for the Yankees.

Credit: Flickr, Creative Commons – James DiBlanco

1.  October 2012 – Just when you thought that the saga of the Empire versus the Rebels…umm ok sorry got carried away, the Yankees versus the Tigers was over.  The old tired aging Darth Vader..umm ok New York Yankees limped their way to the American League Championship Series against the favored Detroit Tigers.

The most eventful game of the series was Game 1 in New  York which went to 12 innings after the Tigers took a 4-0 lead into the ninth inning and good ol’ Papa Grande blew a four run lead with home runs from Ichiro Suzuki and Raul Ibanez.  The Tigers rallied in the twelfth inning to score two runs and win 6-4.  Derek Jeter horribly broke his ankle in the twelfth inning and it was the injury that led to his eventual retirement in 2014 after missing the 2013 season.

The Tigers threw Anibal Sanchez, Justin Verlander, and Max Scherzer in games 2, 3, 4, respectively and they all dominated leading to a Tigers sweep over the evil Empire and roasting the evil Darth Vader in a fire on Endor…ok  just a sweep of a great baseball franchise.  Mr. October Delmon Young once again won the series MVP with two home runs and 6 RBI’s.

Watch highlights here with some nice Youtube sounds

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