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MLB playoff report
By Joseph Hawkes-Beamon October 6, 2011 |
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Valverde’s 1-2-3 ninth punches ALCS ticket for Tigers New York – Tigers closer Jose Valverde pitches a 1-2-3 ninth inning, striking out Yankees’ third basemen Alex Rodriguez for the final out, sending the Yankees packing for the winter with a 3-2 victory Thursday night in the fifth and final game of their AL Division Series. With the win, the Tigers will move on to the AL Championship Series against the Texas Rangers starting Saturday in Arlington. "The Yankees are so good that I would be lying if I said it didn't give me a little extra satisfaction to be able to do it here in the fifth game," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "I don't mean that disrespectfully, I mean that respectfully. ... I was just talking to [general manager] Dave Dombrowski, other than the American League pennant and that time in the World Series, this will be a game I'll remember for the rest of my life." Don Kelly and Delmon Young homered on consecutive pitches in the top of the first to give the Tigers and early 2-0 advantage. Young’s home run was his third of the ALDS, setting a Tigers postseason record for the most home runs in a series. The Tigers added another run in the top of the fifth on catcher’s Victor Martinez’s single up the middle, scoring center fielder Austin Jackson. Doug Fister (1-0) pitched five quality innings, allowing one run and striking out four batters on 92 pitches to record the victory. Game 5 was the first time since the 1968 World Series that the Tigers won a winner-take-all game of a postseason series. |
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