It wasn't pretty, but Yanks outlast Tigers 13-9

(REUTERS/Rebecca Cook)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
N.Y. Yankees	4	4	3	0	0	2	0	0	0		13	17	1
Detroit	1	1	0	6	1	0	0	0	0		9	13	3

The Yankees jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first, extended that to 8-1 in the 2nd, and 11-2 in the 3rd. But still, that wasn't enough for Sidney Ponson to pickup his first win in almost a month. Ponson couldn't even get out through the 4th. In 3+ innings he allowed seven runs (six earned) on nine hits. It's pretty pathetic when your team spots you a nine run lead and you can't get the win.

This should be Ponson's final start in pinstripes. In August he went 1-3 with a 5.29 ERA, and as a Yankee he has an ERA over 6. His last three starts have really been awful, going a combine 9.2 IP and allowing 17 earned runs on 24 hits. I think it's time to try someone new; whether it's Phil Hughes, Alfredo Aceves, Chase Wright, or Ian Kennedy, someone should start in place of Ponson next time around.

Edwar Ramirez also pitched very poorly today; he allowed two runs on three hits, and three walks in 1.1 innings of work in relief of Ponson. The Tigers actually cut the lead to 11-9 at one point.

Luckily for the Yanks they were able to tack on a couple more runs to build their lead back up to four, and Brian Bruney, Phil Coke, Damaso Marte and Chris Britton were able to hold the Tigers offense scoreless the rest of the way.

Phil Coke was very impressive in his major league debut, striking out two in one inning of work. His fastball was very good, he hit 96 MPH on the gun at one point. His slider looked very good as well.

This was the Yankees offense we expected to see all year. They pounded out 13 runs and 17 hits on their way to the victory. The 1 through 4 hitters went 11-18 with 8 RBI, 10 runs scored, and 6 walks, and six Yankees had multi-hit games (Damon, Jeter, Abreu, A-Rod, Matsui and I-Rod). Hopefully we will see more of this in the final month of the season.

	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, CF	4	3	3	1	2	0	0	.316
Jeter, SS	3	3	2	2	3	0	0	.296
Abreu, RF	5	2	3	1	1	1	2	.302
Rodriguez, A, 3B	6	2	3	4	0	0	3	.309
Giambi, 1B	4	0	0	1	1	1	6	.249
Ransom, 1B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.600
Nady, LF	5	0	1	2	0	2	2	.322
Matsui, DH	5	0	2	2	0	1	3	.304
Cano, 2B	5	1	1	0	0	0	3	.268
Rodriguez, I, C	5	2	2	0	0	1	0	.281
Totals	42	13	17	13	7	6	19
BATTING HR: Damon (12, 2nd inning off Verlander, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Damon 6; Jeter 2; Abreu 3; Rodriguez, A 3; Nady; Matsui 2; Cano; Rodriguez, I 2. RBI: Rodriguez, A 4 (85), Giambi (85), Matsui 2 (42), Damon (58), Nady 2 (82), Abreu (84), Jeter 2 (62). 2-out RBI: Matsui 2; Nady; Jeter 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cano; Matsui; Rodriguez, A 2; Abreu. SF: Giambi; Nady. GIDP: Matsui. Team LOB: 11. BASERUNNING SB: Abreu (16, 2nd base off Verlander/Inge).

TIGERS OFFENSE

	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Ponson	3.0	9	7	6	1	1	2	5.13
Ramirez	1.1	2	2	2	3	1	1	3.68
Bruney (W, 2-0)	1.2	1	0	0	1	3	0	2.42
Coke	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0.00
Marte	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	4.25
Britton	1.0	0	0	0	1	0	0	3.78

TIGERS PITCHING

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Alex Rodriguez (3-for-6, 4 RBI, 2 R)

HONORABLE MENTION: Derek Jeter (2-for-3, 2 RBI, 3 R, 3 BB)

The Yankees now head to Tampa to take on the first place Rays in a three game series. Mike Mussina gets the start for the Yankees, with Matt Garza starting for the Rays. Game Time: 7:10 p.m. - TV: YES - Radio: WCBS 880