The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Malafronte: Future is now for the Yankees
Hicks hits three-run homer off Sabathia
NEW YORK » John Hicks hit a threerun homer in his first big league game in more than a month, Justin Upton added a solo drive off CC Sabathia, and the Detroit Tigers held on to beat the New York Yankees 4-3 Tuesday night.
A 27-year-old rookie recalled Monday for his fifth major league stint this season, Hicks drove a slider over the right-center field wall in the second inning, capping a 10-pitch at-bat.
Upton made it 4-0 in the third when he hit a full-count slider to left-center for his 18th homer.
Shane Greene, who took over as closer after Monday’s trade of Justin Wilson to the Chicago Cubs, walked pinch-hitter Jacoby Ellsbury with two outs in the ninth, and bounced a pickoff throw for an error that allowed Ellsbury to reach third.
Brett Gardner was intentionally walked and stole second, and rookie Clint Frazier popped out.
Greene, dealt by the Yankees to Detroit in the December 2014 that brought Gregorius from Arizona, entered with a man on in the eighth and got Matt Holliday to hit into an inning-ending double play in the eighth.
Didi Gregorius drove in three runs for the Yankees. He hit his 17th home run, a two-run drive in the fourth off Anibal Sanchez (3-1) that hooked just fair of the right-field foul pole, then singled
in a run off Daniel Stumpf in the eighth. New York’s third run was unearned because Gary Sanchez’s single to left against Alex Wilson bounced off Upton’s glove for an error.
James McCann was thrown out at the plate by Gardner when he tried to score on Andrew Romine’s two-out single to center in the ninth.
New York, which went 2 for 9 with runners in scoring position, entered with a half-game AL East lead and lost for just the second time in nine games.
Sanchez, making his eighth start since being shifted to the rotation in mid-June, allowed six hits in 6 2/3 innings and improved to 3-0 at Yankee Stadium.
In his 500th big league start, Sabathia (9-4) gave up six hits in six innings, struggling to locate his breaking ball in the early innings.
Hicks had not played for the Tigers since June 27. The first baseman/catcher was brought back after Tigers general manager Al Avila traded his son, Alex, to the Chicago Cubs. Hicks is hitting .300 with four homers and 15 RBIs in 70 at-bats with Detroit and .269 with seven homers and 35 RBIs in 208 at-bats for Triple-A Toledo.
Drafted by Seattle on the fourth round in 2011, he made his big league debut with the Mariners in August 2015, was claimed off waivers by Minnesota that December, then claimed by the Tigers in April 2016.