Detroit, MI (Sports Network) - Eric Chavez has filled in nicely at third base
since Alex Rodriguez went down with an injury.
Chavez continued his hot streak with a go-ahead solo homer in the eighth
inning, and the New York Yankees hung on to beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-3, and
split a four-game series.
The former Oakland All-Star had two hits and scored twice for the Yankees,
giving him a .467 batting average (14-for-30) in his last nine games. The game
was not without drama, however, as Rafael Soriano ran into some trouble in the
ninth.
Alex Avila led off the Tigers' last effort with a double and moved to third on
Omar Infante's single. Detroit was unable to push across the equalizer,
though, after Ramon Santiago lined out softy to second, Quintin Berry popped
out weakly to short and Andy Dirks flied out to center.
It made a winner of Clay Rapada (3-0), who recorded two outs in the seventh to
help New York win the last two games of this series.
Avila added a two-run homer for Detroit, which lost for only the third time in
its last 19 home games. Joaquin Benoit (1-3) gave up Chavez's blast to receive
the loss.
The Sports Network