Yankees, Tigers will try to play two after washout
The New York Yankees haven't gotten their biggest bats going. Yet their powerful lineup is already setting home run records.
The Yankees became the first team in major league history to have five different players with multi-homer games in the first 14 contests of a season. Center fielder Aaron Hicks did the honors Friday night in an 8-6 victory over the struggling Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.
The teams will try to play the last two games of the series in a day-night doubleheader Sunday. Their scheduled game Saturday was washed out and there's more inclement weather in the forecast Sunday.
Not surprisingly, 2017 National League home run king Giancarlo Stanton and catcher Gary Sanchez are among the players with multi-homer games. The other three have come from surprising sources, with Tyler Austin and Didi Gregorius joining Hicks in that category.
"He's such an important player for us," manager Aaron Boone said of Hicks. "I talked about him adding length to our lineup and you saw it there. I talked to him before the game and even though he didn't get any hits (Thursday) night in Boston, I thought all of his at-bats were quality ones."
Hicks became the first Yankees player to hit an inside-the-park home run and one over the fence in the same game since Hank Bauer in 1956.
The inside-the-park shot bounced off the wall in the deepest part of Comerica -- the right-center field fence -- and caromed away from center fielder Leonys Martin.
"It did kick in some energy in a big-time way in our dugout," Boone said. "(On a warmer night), that's a home run probably about 99 percent of the time. That ball's killed, so it seemed justified that he got an inside the park out of it."
The Yankees (7-7) lost five of their previous seven games before Friday's victory. The Tigers (4-9) have lost five straight.
The postponement resulted in some minor shuffling. Ace Luis Severino will oppose Francisco Liriano in the opener. Luis Cessa will go in the nightcap to face Matthew Boyd. Cessa was scheduled to pitch Saturday's game against Liriano.
Severino (2-1) is coming off a poor outing in Boston on Tuesday when he gave up five runs and eight hits in five innings. He allowed a combined two runs in his first two starts and collected victories over Toronto and Tampa Bay.
Severino is 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA in three career starts against Detroit.
Liriano (1-1, 2.13 ERA) pitched well in his first two outings for the Tigers after signing a one-year, $4 million contract as a free agent. The 34-year-old left-hander held Kansas City to one run in 6 2/3 innings and Cleveland to two runs in six innings. In 12 career outings (10 starts) against the Yankees, he has a 4-4 record and 3.34 ERA.
Cessa (0-0) will be making his first start this season. He has pitched two scoreless innings in relief. He was previously Tigers property before he was traded to the Yankees in 2015. He has a 4.54 ERA in 14 career starts.
The 26-year-old right-hander faced the Tigers once before in a relief appearance, allowing a run in two innings.
Boyd had to win a starting job during spring training and has done nothing to lose his spot. He has given up two runs in 13 innings in his two starts, yet only has a loss and a no-decision to show for it. He's 0-2 with a 9.35 ERA in two career starts against the Yankees.
