Tigers Hold On, Beat Yankees 5-4 To Take Game 3

Will Jim Leyland let his Cy Young starting pitcher attempt to finish this game?

Or will Leyland call upon his closer, who has converted 50 of 50 save opportunities in 2011?

During the postseason, Delmon Young has hit two home runs, and both of them have flown out to right field. He hit the first in the first inning of the first game, in Yankee Stadium. He hit the second just a few minutes ago, and it was a big one.

No more damage was done, but now we’re into the eighth, and the Yankees have to rally once more. How quickly things can turn. How frequently things can turn.

Bonus points for using the word “campaign” for Smoltz ... Who, I’m sure completely coincidentally, just happens to be the last pitcher who won 24 games in one season. Fifteen years ago, Smoltz went 24-8.

Now, I don’t doubt that Smoltz had perfected his mechanics, or that he didn’t deliver, time and time again, his pitches to the right spot.

The good news for the Tigers is that, even though they’re losing 2-0, they got Sabathia’s pitch count up to 28. But then, Sabathia can handle a high pitch count, and he’s probably not going to struggle to find his spots for long. Chalk that half-inning up as a missed opportunity.

Lord only knows how he hit this, and hit it so hard:

Both pitchers had decent control, but obviously didn’t have their absolute best in Game 1, with both pitchers giving up an early run. It’s hard to guess exactly how sharp they’re going to be for Game 3, but it’s rare for either Sabathia or Verlander to have a dud of a game at any time.

Game Date/Time: 8:30 P.M. ET, October 3, 2011