Rogers masters Yankees

DETROIT -- It was his first postseason win in an 18-year career and the first time in 13 years he'd beaten the Yankees, a team that had traditionally slaughtered his mush-ball offerings to a tune of a 6.45 ERA in 35 previous games.

As Kenny Rogers came off the mound last night with two outs in the top of the eighth inning with the Tigers leading, 6-0, in a game they would win by that score, the 41-year-old lefthander received the ovation of his life, after delivering what many observers felt was the best performance of his career.

The Tigers now have a chance to win this best-of-five American League Division Series this afternoon, when Detroit's Jeremy Bonderman opposes the Yankees' Jaret Wright in Game 4.

Rogers, a former Yankee with 207 regular-season wins, said, ``I've never wanted a win more than this one."

And it showed.

With tremendous resolve and spirit, Rogers changed speeds and arm slots, and kept Yankee batters off-balance, allowing five hits and striking out eight before a Comerica Park crowd of 43,440, watching the first playoff game in the Motor City in 19 years.

``I tried to show a different guy," said Rogers, as he iced his shoulder after the game. ``Because they wore out the old guy."

Much like a defensive coordinator in football who shows an opponent different looks, there was no way to scout what Rogers did last night.

``I just think as much as anything else, I wanted this for my team, for me, my family, everything," said Rogers. ``I wanted to do well and leave nothing out there. And this is one of the wins I'm never going to forget."

Leyland has defended his team since the end of the regular season, when it angered him that many thought the Tigers had backed into the playoffs, losing the American League Central race on the final day to the Twins. Look now. The Twins were swept yesterday by the A's, and the Tigers are a game away from the AL Championship Series.

In baseball, there's a tendency to favor a hard thrower over a softer one, especially if the hard thrower -- Yankees starter Randy Johnson -- has won 280 regular-season games. But the Big Unit was pitching in pain last night. He was diagnosed with a herniated disk in his back late in the season and was given an epidural to relieve some of the discomfort in his 43-year-old body.

And his performance wasn't bad on a chilly night (54 degrees at game time) that got cooler as the evening went on. The Tigers scored three runs in the second inning as Johnson, whose fastball was in the low-90s, was very hittable.

Shortstop Carlos Guillen ignited the second-inning rally with a leadoff single to right field. Pudge Rodriguez advanced him to third with a single, and the crowd was on its feet. After Sean Casey singled home Guillen, Johnson settled down to strike out Brandon Inge for the first out.

Curtis Granderson, batting ninth, grounded into a force at second as Robinson Cano made a nice stop of a ball heading up the middle, flipping to Derek Jeter. Jeter, in turn, made an incredibly athletic attempt to turn the double play with a spin in midair and a hard, accurate throw to first. But it was not in time, and Rodriguez scored the second Tiger run. Leadoff man Placido Polanco then scorched a single to center, completing the three-run assault on Johnson.

But Johnson got it together from the third through fifth innings, and for two outs in the sixth.

The Yankees, meanwhile, had base runners in all of Rogers's seven-plus innings, but were never able to capitalize, including getting leadoff doubles by Hideki Matsui in the fifth and Jorge Posada in the seventh. The Yankees now have gone 14 innings without a run.

With two outs in the sixth, the Tigers reignited their offense. After Magglio Ordonez's double-play grounder, Guillen lined a single off Jeter's glove and Rodriguez doubled into the left-field corner, scoring Guillen with the fourth run. After Casey doubled to right making it 5-0, Yankees manager Joe Torre took the slow walk to the mound to get his lefthander.

Yankees reliever Brian Bruney took his punishment too, in the form of a 403-foot homer into the right-field stands by Granderson on a 3-and-1 fastball in the seventh.

Leyland said before the game that ``when you're the heavy underdog, you've got to try an onside kick once in a while."

But there was no onside kick. Instead, the Tigers and Rogers landed a good, swift kick in the pants to this uber-lineup. And today, they have a chance to shock the world.