Watch New York Yankees at Detroit Tigers

On a cool night in the Motor City, the Detroit Tigers took on the New York Yankees at Comerica Park in a mid-season matchup. The Yankees came into the game with a record of 55-33 and sat atop the American League East, while the Tigers were struggling at 38-51 and in last place in the American League Central.

Both teams sent their aces to the mound for this one, with the Yankees starting left-hander James Paxton and the Tigers countering with right-hander Matthew Boyd. Paxton had a rocky start to the season but had settled in nicely in the weeks leading up to this game, while Boyd had struggled for most of the year despite boasting some of the best stuff in the league.

The game got off to a slow start, with both pitchers cruising through the first few innings. Paxton had a bit of trouble in the second inning, allowing a single and a walk, but he was able to escape the jam by inducing a ground ball double play. Boyd, on the other hand, was perfect through the first two innings, striking out three Yankees batters in the process.

In the top of the third inning, the Yankees finally broke through against Boyd. Brett Gardner led off with a single to center field, and DJ LeMahieu followed with a triple into the right field corner to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Aaron Hicks drove in LeMahieu with a sacrifice fly to make the score 2-0.

The score would remain 2-0 until the top of the sixth inning, when the Yankees added some insurance. After a leadoff walk to Edwin Encarnacion and a single by Gardner, LeMahieu came up big again with a two-run double to left-center field to make the score 4-0. Boyd was lifted from the game shortly thereafter, having allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks over 5 1/3 innings while striking out six.

The Tigers had a chance to get back in the game in the bottom of the sixth inning when they loaded the bases with no outs against Paxton. However, Paxton was able to wiggle out of the jam by striking out the next two batters and inducing a ground ball to end the inning.

The Yankees added another run in the top of the seventh inning on an RBI single by Hicks to make the score 5-0, and that would prove to be more than enough for their bullpen. Chad Green, Tommy Kahnle, and Zack Britton combined to pitch three scoreless innings to close out the game and secure the victory for the Yankees.

In the end, it was a solid all-around performance by the Yankees, who got great pitching from Paxton and their bullpen and timely hitting from LeMahieu and Hicks. The Tigers, on the other hand, were unable to overcome another lackluster offensive performance and some defensive miscues that proved costly. Despite the loss, the Tigers can take solace in the fact that they held their own against one of the best teams in the league for most of the game and may be able to build on that going forward.