Rogers silences Yankees sluggers
DETROIT – Kenny Rogers stood alone near the mound and soaked in the cheers. He had stared down his past and all that pinstriped power.
Now it was time to enjoy a night like no other.
The sarcastic “A-Rod” choruses had quieted. The taunts directed at Jason Giambi were distant whispers, and the mighty New York Yankees had been blanked by a pitcher who was once one of their own.
As Tigers fans saluted him by singing “Ken-ny, Ken-ny,” Rogers touched his heart with both hands.
“I wanted this game as much as I ever wanted any in my life,” he said.
In a ballpark normally locked up by October, the Tigers got 72/3 shutout innings from Rogers and outplayed New York in a 6-0 victory, pushing Detroit within one win of shocking the Yankees into an early winter.
The 41-year-old Rogers, one of the few Detroit pitchers who doesn’t fire 100 mph fastballs, used every pitch in his stash to blank a revamped Yankees lineup for his first win in 10 postseason games.
“I was probably more emotional than I should have been,” said the left-hander. “That is by far the greatest lineup I’ve ever faced. I just wanted to win for everyone here.”
“We really haven’t finished everything yet,” first baseman Sean Casey said. “We have a 2-1 lead (in the best-of-5 series), but that doesn’t mean anything.”
Detroit, which left New York on Thursday with a split after rallying to win Game 2, scored three runs in the second inning off Randy Johnson and two more in the sixth. Rogers, whose career highlights include a perfect game in 1994 for Texas and an embarrassing run-in with a TV cameraman, made them stand up for his first win over New York since 1993.
Rogers, who played for New York in 1996-97, confounded the Yankees with fastballs, sinkers, changeups and curves. He struck out eight – his most since June 13 – and walked two.
“For this one night, I think he got it all together, and he was probably as determined as you’ll ever see anybody pitch a ballgame,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said.
After striking out Bobby Abreu for the second out in the eighth, Rogers was lifted and received a long, loud ovation on his walk to the dugout.
Joel Zumaya got one out, and Todd Jones finished the five-hitter, triggering a wild celebration by the 43,440 fans.
Casey had two RBIs and Curtis Granderson hit a solo homer as the Tigers, who lost 119 games in 2003, moved within one win of taking a series few thought they had a chance in.
The Yankees offense sputtered again, and this time it wasn’t all the fault of Alex Rodriguez, who said: “There’s tension in this clubhouse.”
A-Rod was 0 for 3 and 1 for 11 in the series. New York’s $25 million man is batting just .116 (5 for 43) in his last 12 postseason games and hasn’t driven in a run in his past 11.
Citing Bernie Williams’ stronger numbers – a .353 average with two homers – against Rogers, Yankees manager Joe Torre shook up baseball’s bash brothers from the Bronx by using the 38-year-old as DH while resting first baseman Gary Sheffield.
Giambi, New York’s DH in the first two games at Yankee Stadium, played first and Rodriguez, who was dropped to sixth in the lineup for Games 1 and 2, was back in the cleanup spot.
The shakeup didn’t stir a thing. The Yankees went 0 for 18 with men on base.