The Tigers came storming down the tunnel that leads from Yankee Stadium to the visitors’ clubhouse whooping and hollering as if they had just knocked the Yankees out of the ALDS.
“Who’s your [bleepin’] Tiger?” screamed one player.
“Yes sir! Yes sir,” bellowed another. “[Bleep] yeah! [Bleep] yeah!”
For the first time since Sept. 26, the Tigers came off the field winners and by doing so, they accomplished more than their goal of getting a split in the first two games of this ALDS. They rallied to beat the Yankees 4-3, snapped a six-game losing streak and backed up their mantra: “We belong!”
“I hope in my heart that everybody realizes that we are a playoff team,” said Tigers manager Jim Leyland. “To do what we did today with those kids pitching and everything and the way we played the game, I hope at least everybody believes that we’re worthy of being in the playoffs because I’m not sure everybody believed that.”
Even if no one else believes, the Tigers believe.
“Splitting in Yankee Stadium is not an easy thing to do,” said Detroit catcher Ivan Rodriguez. “If we lost this game, we would have been in trouble.”
If the Tigers had lost, it would have dropped them into an 0-2 hole and left them as Yankees road kill. Any team that blows the division title on the last day of the regular season and then drops the first two games in a best-of-five series has an appointment with the undertaker.
But even after Johnny Damon blasted an upper-deck three-run homer to give the Yankees a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning, the Tigers kept clawing.
When Damon flew out to Curtis Granderson in center for the final out, the Tigers were off the emotional respirator and back in the series. The next two games are in Motown and, for a city whose automobile industry has crashed, the Tigers are the feel-good story.
“You know, this was a huge win for us,” said starting pitcher Justin Verlander. “There’s no doubt about that. You know, to go home even instead of two down, there’s no doubt about it: This was a big game for our team and our confidence.”
Suddenly, the once timid Tigers look formidable. Verlander, who left some of his juice on the outfield grass Wednesday night when he stretched out during a rain delay, battled for 51/3 innings. Then Joel Zumaya came in and blew 103-mph heaters past the Bombers. And former Yankees draft pick Marcus Thomas went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI.
“We’ve been doing this all year,” said Rodriguez. “We don’t give up. . . . If we lose, we go down fighting.”