Robinson Cano Grand Slam Blows Doors Wide Open

That is not at all an accurate reflection of how well he pitched. Against the Yankees, in Yankee Stadium, in a weird starting/relieving situation, Fister was very good, but everything fell apart in the bottom of the sixth.

You'll recall that the Yankees were narrowly ahead of the Tigers 2-1 coming into the frame. Mark Teixeira doubled and Jorge Posada drew a walk, but the Yankees had two on and two out when Brett Gardner came up. Fister got ahead 0-and-2, but then Gardner grounded a fastball just through the infield and into right-center to plate a pair of runs.

At that point, realistically, it was probably enough. The Yankees have an excellent bullpen, and the Tigers were down 4-1 with nine outs to go. But the Yankees weren't finished. Derek Jeter singled, and Curtis Granderson walked in an eight-pitch plate appearance to load the bases. That chased Fister from the mound, and Jim Leyland called on Al Alburquerque to put out the fire and keep the score where it was.

He didn't. The right-handed Alburquerque gave the left-handed Robinson Cano an 0-and-1 slider inside, and Cano pulled it way out to deep, deep right for a grand slam that blew the game open. Three of the four runs were charged to Fister, and one to Alburquerque, but that doesn't really matter - what matters is that the Yankees all but have a 1-0 series lead. Just the way they drew it up!