Doublewhammy for Newyork Ags prevail in wild one
NEWYORK— The New York Yankees lost the AL Championship Series opener and their captain when Derek Jeter broke his left ankle just after Delmon Young doubled home the go- ahead run in the 12th inning of the Detroit Tigers’ thrilling, excruciating, bizarre 6- 4 victory Saturday.
NewYork’s Raul Ibanez hit another stunning game- tying home run during a four- run rally in the ninth, but that was just the start of the dramatics in another thriller of a postseason already filled with them.
Jeter dived to his left for the sharp grounder and winced in pain as he flipped the ball toward second base. He then rolled onto his stomach, and a collective gasp was heard when he stayed down.
Jeter remained on his side, rolling slightly, as trainer Steve Donahue and manager Joe Girardi checked him out. He was helped up, and he put an arm around Girardi and Donahue. They coaxed him off the field with Jeter not moving his left leg as chants of “Derek Jeter!” rang out.
“You can see the disappointment in his face,” Girardi said after the game.
Girardi said the injury won’t jeopardize Jeter’s career, but the recovery will take about three months.
Detroit was coasting to a 4- 0 win before the Yankees rocked Tigers closer Jose Valverde in the ninth.
Ichiro Suzuki started the comeback with a two- run homer with one out, and the 40- yearold Ibanez hit another two- run drivewith two outs. Three nights earlier, Ibanez hit a tying home run in the ninth against Baltimore in Game 3 of the division series and another homer in the 12th to win it.
Young’s one- out double off David Phelps, which followed a leadoff walk by Triple Crown winnerMiguel Cabrera, sliced in right and eluded Nick Swisher, who appeared ready to dive but couldn’t get his glove out when he realized the ball was closer to him than he had thought.
Young drove in three runs, hitting an RBI single in a two- run sixth against Andy Pettitte and a solo homer in the eighth against Derek Lowe.
Tigers rookie Avisail Garcia singled in a run against Boone Logan, and Andy Dirks added an RBI single in the 12th on a comebacker that glanced off Phelps’ pitching hand.
DrewSmyly, who had started warming up in the third when starter Doug Fister took a line drive off his right wrist, got the win by pitching two scoreless innings.
In Game 2 on Sunday night, New York starts Hiroki Kuroda, pitching on three days’ rest for the first time in his big league career. Detroit sends Anibal Sanchez to the mound.
SHREVEPORT, La.— Texas A& Mcoach Kevin Sumlin speaks often of lessons learned for his team during the course of a season.
The Aggies learned a valuable one Saturday night against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs: No lead is safe.
A& Mheld on for dear life and a 59- 57 victory after owning a 27- 0 lead midway through the second quarter. The Bulldogs had tightened the gap to 46- 44 early in the fourth quarter before the Aggies’ Thomas Johnson gathered in a 17- yard touchdown catch from JohnnyManziel, shoving A& M’s lead to 53- 44midway through the fourth quarter.
Manziel then cushioned A& M’s lead to 59- 44 with a 72- yard touchdown sprint with 2: 04 remaining in the game. But Louisiana Tech wasn’t finished, when two plays later Quinton Patton collected a 62- yard touchdown pass from Colby Cameron to tighten the gap to 59- 51 with 1: 46 remaining.
Louisiana Tech then recovered the onside kick, and Cameron threw a 13- yard touchdown pass to Ray Holley with 38 seconds remaining. The two- point conversion attempt failed, however, on a loft pass from Cameron to R. P Stuart that sailed over his head.
The Bulldogs ( 5- 1) saw their dreams of becoming Bowl Championship Series busters sidelined by the Aggies ( 5- 1), who won their fifth consecutive game following a 20- 17 setback to Florida in their opener on Sept. 8.
A& M( No. 22) and Louisiana Tech were supposed to play Aug. 30, but Hurricane Isaac, which slammed the Louisiana coast in late August, postponed the game to Saturday, when both programs had open dates. They also both entered the rankings for the first time this season last week, and the Bulldogs ( No. 23) owned their highest ranking in history leading to kickoff.
But A& Mnearly squashed Louisiana Tech’s high hopes in the first 13minutes on a 40- yard run by Christine Michael, a 20- yard pass fromManziel to LeKendrickWilliams and a highlight- reel 15- yard run byManziel, in building a 21- 0 lead.
They added to their cushion with field goals of 26, 54 and 28 yards by Taylor Bertolet, a spectacular 75- yard touchdown pass fromManziel to Mike Evans and a Dustin Harris return of a blocked extra point for two points.
On the downside for the Aggies, receiver Ryan Swope left the game in the first quarter with an apparent head injury. A& M defensive backs Deshazor Everett ( arm) and Steven Campbell ( head) didn’t play, and safety Howard Matthews and linebacker Steven Jenkins sat this one out for violations of team rules ( stemming from the offseason, when they were suspended for the scheduled opener against Louisiana Tech).
The Aggies next play host to LSU on Saturday, in a revival of a oncefierce annual series that wrapped up in 1995.