Yankees can't get key hit in 5-4 loss to Tigers

DETROIT - Joe Girardi said he might do a "cartwheel" if he could get five innings out of last night's emergency starter, Sergio Mitre.

Mitre came up just short of Girardi's low expectation, but pitching wasn't the primary problem as the Yankees dropped the first of a four-game series with the Tigers, 5-4.

Had the Yankees (21-10) produced with runners on, Girardi certainly would have had cause to turn a cartwheel or two.

There also was the indignity of three players they directly or indirectly sent to the Tigers last offseason playing a role in their demise. Johnny Damon homered in his first regular-season game against his former team and Austin Jackson and Phil Coke, each included in the Curtis Granderson deal, contributed to the win by the Tigers (18-14).

"It feels good, especially when the run can help you win the game," said Damon, whose solo homer in the fifth off Mitre (three earned runs, five hits in 41/3 innings) gave the Tigers a 4-2 lead. "There's no quit in that team, as we all know. They're able to come back from any deficit."

The Yankees, who went 1-for-10 with RISP, had runners on first and third with one out in the sixth and eighth innings but couldn't get any closer. But had it not been for Tigers rightfielder Magglio Ordoñez, who made a sliding catch of Derek Jeter's two-out liner in the eighth - saving two runs and possibly the game - the other missed chances would have been forgotten.

"He made a good catch," Jeter said. "He was positioned perfectly."

Trailing 5-2 going into the eighth, the Yankees finally got something going against hard-throwing Joel Zumaya, whose triple-digit fastball had stymied them for 12/3 innings.

They loaded the bases with none out on singles by Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano and a walk to Jorge Posada. After Marcus Thames' infield single made it 5-3, Tigers manager Jim Leyland called for Coke. "I was a little amped up," Coke said.

Brett Gardner grounded into a forceout at second, moving the Yankees within 5-4 and putting runners on first and third with one out. But Coke got Randy Winn - who already had popped up with runners on first and third in the second and flied out with the bases loaded in the sixth to end each inning - to pop to third for the second out.

Jeter worked the count full against righthander Ryan Perry, then sent a sinking liner to right, where Ordoñez made a sliding catch to his left to preserve the lead.

"We had a few missed opportunities tonight," Girardi said. "Zumaya did a good job. We finally got to him in the eighth inning. Had some chances; we just didn't get enough."

After Joba Chamberlain struck out the side in the bottom of the eighth to keep the Yankees within a run, Jose Valverde struck out Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira and Rodriguez in the ninth to record his ninth save. Teixeira had hit a two-run homer in the third inning.

Yankees pitchers had two outs and none on in the first and seventh innings but couldn't seal the deal. Brennan Boesch singled home two runs in the first and tripled home what proved to be the winning run in the seventh off Boone Logan.

But in both clubhouses it was the Damon-produced run that was the primary topic.

"Johnny, he likes playing in games like this," Jeter said. "I'm sure he's probably feeling pretty good over on the other side. We've seen him do it against us on the other side. We've seen him do it for us. It's really not surprising."