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The New York Yankees (1-2) will open up a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers (2-2) starting Monday. After winning the home opener against the Baltimore Orioles 7-2, the Yankees dropped back-to-back games to the O’s. The Yankees are a huge favorite at -215 over the Tigers.
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Yankees Struggle in Opening Series
J.A. Happ (0-1) never settled in during Sunday’s 7-5 loss against Baltimore. The first pitch was held up by rain for 3 hours, 17 minutes, and it was 47 degrees and windy when the game began.
Happ said the conditions didn’t bother him much. The early setbacks, those did.
“It’s not ideal. We got to turn the page,” he said. “Not the start we wanted, but we can bounce back. We can play better than we’ve played, I know that.”
Happ had been 7-0 in his first 11 regular-season starts for the Yankees since being acquired last summer from Toronto. Joe Cowley (1983-84) is the last pitcher to go unbeaten in his first 12 starts for the Yankees.
Detroit at .500
The Tigers opened up their season with a four-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays, as they split the series 2-2. Like the Yankees, Detroit won their first game of the season 2-0. They then were shut out in back-to-back games before evening up the series with a 4-3 victory over the Blue Jays on Sunday.
After getting blanked in back-to-back losses, the Tiger scored just enough runs to leave Canada on a winning note. Nicholas Castellanos had an RBI single in the 11th inning, Jeimer Candelario got five hits and the Tigers beat the Blue Jays despite blowing a late lead.
“That was a huge win for us,” said shortstop Jordy Mercer, who preserved a 3-all tie with a defensive gem in the 10th inning. “I’m not talking record-wise, I’m talking about momentum. I’m talking coming together as a team, not giving up. That’s what good teams are made of.”
Castellanos drove in catcher Grayson Greiner, and the Tigers salvaged a split of the four-game series to open the season. The decisive hit came off the left-hander Thomas Pannone (0-1), Toronto’s eighth pitcher of the game.
“It’s a really good feeling for the team,” Candelario said.
Candelario drove in two runs and Daniel Stumpf (1-0) pitched one inning for the win. Toronto put a runner at third with two outs in the bottom of the 11th but Shane Greene got Teoscar Hernandez to line out for his second save.
Candelario came in 1 for 12 on the season and 0 for 9 with seven strikeouts since his lone base hit on opening day. He singled in the first, sixth, seventh and 11th, and doubled in the ninth.
“He had a great day, a super day,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Five hits in a ballgame is pretty special.”
Miguel Cabrera started at DH. Cabrera left Saturday’s game after being hit on the right hand by Aaron Sanchez’s pitch in the sixth.
The Tigers are expected to pitch RHP Tyson Ross in Monday’s opener against the Yankees. Ross is 0-3 with a 6.88 ERA in six career games against New York.
Yankees Top Tigers
RHP Domingo German will pitch at some point vs. Detroit on Monday night, but manager Aaron Boone isn’t quite sure when. A reliever might start with an inning or two, or it could be German from the first pitch. Look for the Yankees pitching to keep the Tigers off balance all night. Betting the Yankees is the way to go in this one.
