Bronx, NY (Sports Network) - Placido Polanco hit a pair of solo home runs to lead the Detroit Tigers past the injury-laden New York Yankees, 6-2, in the second installment of a three-game series.
Marcus Thames belted a two-run homer for the Tigers, who have won two in a row and seven of their last nine contests overall. Gary Sheffield went 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Edgar Renteria finished 1-for-4 with a run scored and one driven in.
Jeremy Bonderman (2-2) got the win by allowing just two runs on five hits in 7 2/3 innings of work. Clay Rapada threw 1 1/3 innings of perfect relief in the win.
Johnny Damon had a double and scored a run for the Yankees, who have let two games in a row slip away. Melky Cabrera went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Jason Giambi was responsible for New York's other run batted in.
Andy Pettitte (3-3) was roughed up for five runs on seven hits in six innings of work. New York's bullpen was solid, allowing three hits and a run in three innings of work. The loss marks the first time in the left-hander's career that he lost his first two starts at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees announced during the game that they placed starting pitcher Phil Hughes on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right oblique. The news comes on the heels of New York placing star third baseman Alex Rodriguez on the 15-day disabled list because of a Grade 2 strain of his right quadriceps. The three-time AL MVP is on the DL for the first time since 2000. Of course, the Yanks are also playing without catcher Jorge Posada, who is on the DL for the first time in his career.
Damon led off the game with a double down the left-field line, Derek Jeter followed with a single and Bobby Abreu worked a walk to load the bases. Hideki Matsui flied out, but Giambi managed a sacrifice fly to left-center and a Cabrera single then scored Jeter from second. The Yankees were ahead 2-0 after the first inning.
"He struggled with control early and we scored a couple of runs, but after that he settled down," Jeter said. "We tried to be patient, but when he's throwing strikes, it's hard to be patient."
Detroit cut its deficit in half in the second. Magglio Ordonez led off with a walk and Miguel Cabrera followed with a single. Jose Guillen then made it second-and-third with a sac bunt before Renteria smacked an RBI groundout to plate Ordonez.
The Tigers jumped back on top, 3-2, in the fifth. Renteria reached base via a single and Thames plated him with his second homer of the year.
Polanco made it a two-run game as he led off the sixth with a home run, and a Guillen slow-roller to Alberto Gonzalez scored Sheffield, which put the Tigers on top 5-2.
Polanco added another solo shot in the eighth, and it was a four-run game.
"I was just trying to get a good swing on the ball," Polanco said. "Sometimes you get lucky."
New York went down in order in the ninth to seal the deal.
Game Notes
New York also made a number of other moves on Wednesday, re-signing veteran catcher Chad Moeller and recalling pitcher Chris Britton from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The team also optioned catcher Chris Stewart to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and reinstated pitcher Sean Henn from the 15-day disabled list before designating him for assignment..These teams split their eight matchups last season, but the Yankees are 14-9 in the series since the start of the 2005 campaign..Matsui extended his hit streak to 10 games..Attendance was 49,513.