DETROIT — The Yankees beat the Tigers and ace Justin Verlander last night at Comerica Park with their best hitter, Robinson Cano, sidelined, their cleanup man, Alex Rodriguez, in a deep slump and their designated hitter, Jorge Posada, attempting to fight his way out of an extended slide.
Cano suffered a bone bruise on the left palm Sunday when he was handcuffed by an Ivan Nova pickoff throw at second base.
“It feels better,” said Cano, who was replaced at second by Eduardo Nunez and in the fifth spot by Nick Swisher. “[Sunday] I couldn’t hold the bat.”
Cano was told not to take batting practice and said he wasn’t available to pinch hit.
“I don’t want to make it worse,” said Cano, who is batting .320 with eight homers and 21 RBIs.
Following the Yankees’ 5-3 victory, in which Nunez had an RBI double and Swisher provided the game-winning hit, manager Joe Girardi said Cano possibly would return tonight.
Rodriguez lugged a 3-for-27 (.111) slump to the plate last night and if not for a generous scoring call would have gone 0-for-5 instead of 1-for-5 with an infield single.
“I felt much better [Sunday],” said Rodriguez, who that day went 0-for-4 and fanned twice against the Blue Jays in a 5-2 win after sitting Saturday. “My overall body felt better. I don’t go on results, I go on how I feel.”
Rodriguez said the day off Saturday helped his lower half.
“I feel like I have my legs back under me,” he said. “I had played seven games in a row, now I feel much better.”
Posada, who had two hits in 31 at-bats and was hitting .133 for the season, batted sixth. He delivered a two-run double in the first and singled starting the sixth, but struck out twice.
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Brett Gardner couldn’t offer a concrete reason why he suddenly is drawing walks — eight times in five games after two last night. From April 9-28 he had no walks.
“I try not to over-analyze it” said Gardner, who is 6-for-9 in his last five games after going 1-for-1 last night. “I want to continue to be aggressive and getting consistent with my approach.”
Gardner said the walks and hits are linked.
“When you are going good you are ahead of the count,” Gardner said. “When you are going bad you are behind in the count.”
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Last season, Curtis Granderson missed the Yankees’ trip to Comerica Park with a groin injury. So, last night was the first time Granderson was the opponent in the place he called home for five years.
“I think it will be 50/50,” Granderson said of Tigers fans reaction to him. “With the Yankees, you can’t help but throw a few boos in there.”
He was right, it was nothing special either way.
