Detroit edges out Yankees 4-3 in Game 2, ties series

NEW YORK -- Justin Verlander and Detroit's bullpen held down the New York Yankees' mighty offense, bringing just enough 100 mph heat to send the Tigers home with a split.\nCurtis Granderson hit a go-ahead triple off Mike Mussina in the seventh inning to cap a comeback from a two-run deficit, and the Tigers beat the Yankees 4-3 Thursday to even their best-of-five AL playoff series at one game apiece.\nAfter the threat of rain caused a postponement Wednesday night, the skies were sunny for the rare postseason day game at Yankee Stadium. Before a somewhat stunned crowd of 56,252, the wild-card Tigers ended a six-game losing streak that stretched to the final week of the regular season.\nVerlander, his pitches reaching 100 mph, allowed his only runs on Johnny Damon's fourth-inning homer, which put New York ahead 3-1. Jamie Walker, Joel Zumaya and Todd Jones finished, facing 10 batters and getting 11 outs, including a double play.\nZumaya topped out at 102 mph, according to the center-field scoreboard. Walker got the win, and Jones pitched the ninth for the save.\nHideki Matsui singled off Jones leading off the ninth. Jones, a soft tosser when compared to the Tigers' other hard throwers, struck out Jorge Posada, retired Robinson Cano on a soft fly and got Damon to fly out on a 92-mph pitch.\nNew York, an overwhelming favorite with All-Stars at every position, won Tuesday's opener 8-4 and had plenty of chances early in this one. The Yankees struck out nine times and went 1-for-8 with men in scoring position.\nAlex Rodriguez had another tough day at the plate, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, including one that ended the first with the bases loaded.\nA-Rod, booed loudly after his final two at-bats, hasn't driven in a run in his last 10 postseason games and is 5-for-40 (.125) in his last 11. He's 1-for-8 with four strikeouts in this series.\nWhen the series resumes in Detroit on Friday night, Randy Johnson (17-11) will test his stiff back for New York, opposed by former-Yankee Kenny Rogers (17-8). Because of the rainout, the teams lost their travel day.\nDamon's three-run homer into the right-field upper deck erased an early Detroit lead created by Marcus Thames' second-inning RBI single. The Tigers tied it at 3 on Granderson's fifth-inning sacrifice fly and Carlos Guillen's sixth-inning homer into the right-field lower deck.\nThames singled leading off the seventh for his third hit of the game, took second on Posada's passed ball and went to third when No. 9 hitter Brandon Inge sacrificed.\nNew York moved the infield in, and Granderson fell behind 0-2 and fouled off two more pitches before lining the ball to the wall in left-center. With the infield still in, Placido Polanco lined to Rodriguez, who made a dive to the third-base bag and nearly doubled up Polanco. Sean Casey then flied out.\nVerlander, a 23-year-old rookie who went 17-9 during the regular season, kept getting in and out of trouble early. New York loaded the bases in the first on Damon's single and a pair of walks. But, after a mound visit from pitching coach Chuck Hernandez, Verlander got Rodriguez to miss a 99 mph fastball and foul off a 100 mph fastball before freezing him with an offspeed pitch for a third strike.\nNew York got its first two runners on in the second but failed to score, and Gary Sheffield followed Bobby Abreu's leadoff walk in the third by grounding into a double play.