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Recap: Yankees 5 Tigers 2

The Yankees evened up their series with the Tigers at one game apiece with a 5-2 victory in Detroit Tuesday night at Comerica Park. Acquired over the offseason from the Miami Marlins, Nathan Eovaldi earned his first win with the Yankees as he went seven innings while allowing just one earned run to the Tigers’ potent offense. Eovaldi got plenty of help from his defense in this one as he allowed eight hits, but the Yankees turned four double plays behind him limiting the damage. Tigers starter Kyle Lobstein also provided a quality start as he went six innings while allowing just one earned run, but the Detroit bullpen failed to keep the game close surrendering three runs in the seventh, putting the Tigers in a 4-0 hole.

Top WPA Play:

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It didn’t take long for the Yankees to score again once Lobstein was out of the game. Chris Young greeted the new pitcher Ian Krol with this blast and Stepehen Drew followed with one of his own one out later. Krol is all the Tigers have left from the failed Doug Fister trade and with appearances like this it’s fair to wonder how much longer he’ll remain with the club.

Bottom WPA Play:

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Eovaldi got Ian Kinsler to ground into two double plays on the night. This one was particularly crushing as the Tigers were trailing in the sixth inning and two outs closer to facing the Yankees bullpen.

Key Moment:

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It looked like the Tigers might have something going in the fourth inning as the first two men reached base, but Eovaldi stopped the potential rally with a strikeout of J.D. Martinez on a slider and got the next batter to ground into one of the four double plays on the night.

Trend to watch: With the Yankees facing a left-handed pitcher, manager Joe Girardi opted to go with Chris Young in right field and Stephen Drew at shortstop instead of Carlos Beltran and Didi Gregorius. Young and Drew each hit home runs in the seventh inning and are now tied for the team lead with Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez with four. Young crushes lefties and we should expect him to get more at-bats against southpaws with the way he’s swinging the bat, but Drew’s home run was his first off a lefty since August of 2013.

Up Next: The Yankees have two more games with the Tigers. Adam Warren will square off with David Price Wednesday night.

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