VENUE: Yankee Stadium
The New York Yankees will open the playoffs at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night, having earned home-field advantage throughout the postseason. Hardly anyone could have foreseen that two months ago with the way the Detroit Tigers were playing.
The Tigers slumped badly over the season's final 50 games, however, and Detroit played so poorly that it lost its grip on the AL Central Division title, having to settle instead for a first-round matchup with the team that many observers consider the favorite to make it to the World Series.
A costly extra-inning loss in their regular season finale Sunday gave the division title to Minnesota, sending the Tigers (95-67) to face the Yankees (97-65) in the raucous atmosphere of the Bronx in Game 1 of their AL division series.
On Aug. 7, Detroit appeared a lock to be the team that would earn home-field advantage throughout the postseason, moving a season-high 40 games above .500 and taking a 10-game lead over the Chicago White Sox in the Central.
The Tigers, though, went 19-31 down the stretch and lost the division crown to the Twins on the final day, suffering a 10-8 defeat in 12 innings to last-place Kansas City.
The loss was the fifth straight for the young Tigers, who despite a resurgence this season that saw them return to the postseason for the first time since 1987, showed their inexperienced in the heat of a playoff race. A victory Sunday would have given Detroit the division crown and a matchup with Oakland in the first round.
"We weren't planning on coming to New York," manager Jim Leyland said after his club blew a six-run lead to the Royals. "But here we are.
"We're going forward. I look at it that we're a team that won 71 games a year ago and won 95 this year and we're in the playoffs. We're going forward and we are here to play."
The Yankees, meanwhile, struggled to keep up with Boston in the AL East during much of the first half of the season, as injuries took starting outfielders Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield, and second baseman Robinson Cano, out of a lineup that was supposed to be among the best in baseball.
New York, though, managed to stay close to the Red Sox, and in the defining series of their season, went into Fenway Park in mid-August and swept five games from Boston to take a 6 1/2-game lead. That started the Yankees' 27-17 finish and helped them earn a ninth straight division title.
The trade-deadline acquisition of Bobby Abreu, who hit .330 with seven homers and 42 RBIs for the Yankees, boosted the lineup, which is now benefiting from the return of Matsui, Sheffield and Cano and appears to be one of the dominant elements of this year's postseason.
With Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Jason Giambi and Jorge Posada rounding out that lineup, New York's powerful offense will present a major challenge for the Tigers pitchers that keyed Detroit's rise this season.
The first one to face that lineup will be Nate Robertson (13-13, 3.84 ERA), who had one of his worst games of the season in his last start, giving up six runs and 10 hits in 4 2-3 innings of a 7-4 loss to Toronto on Wednesday.
"Obviously, that's not how you want to finish the regular season, but I know I'll have another start next week in a more important game," Robertson said.
The left-hander is 1-4 with a 4.46 ERA in six starts against the Yankees, and 0-2 in two starts against them this season, allowing eight runs and 20 hits in 15 2-3 innings. He's 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA in three starts at Yankee Stadium.
In one of those starts, though, he allowed just two runs over seven innings but lost to New York Game 1 starter Chien-Ming Wang (19-6, 3.63), who has dominated Detroit in his career.
The second-year right-hander emerged as the Yankees' top starter this season, surpassing veterans Mike Mussina and Randy Johnson to earn the nod in the playoff opener. Wang went 10-2 with 3.13 ERA in 14 starts after the All-Star break, allowing one run or fewer in five of those games.
"I don't think anyone expected him to be at the top of the rotation all season," said Mussina, who will take the ball in Game 2.
Wang turned in one of his best starts of the season in the matchup with Robertson on Aug. 30, giving up three hits in 7 2-3 innings of a 2-0 victory. He's 3-0 with a 2.52 ERA in four career starts against the Tigers, and won both starts at Yankee Stadium against them, allowing two runs in 14 innings.
New York makes its 12th straight trip to the postseason, but hasn't won the World Series since 2000.
"Every time we've gone to the playoffs, we've felt pretty good about ourselves," Jeter said. "I thought we were going to win every time, but it didn't happen. I felt good about the last five teams that went into the postseason, and I feel good about this one."
New York won five of seven from Detroit this season, and is 17-4 at Yankee Stadium against the Tigers since 2001.
