The Detroit Tigers beat the New York Yankees 3-0 Sunday to take a 2-0 lead in the AL championship series.
Sunday's victory put the Tigers in a commanding position as they head home to play the next three games against the Yankees, in the best of seven series.
Anibal Sanchez made a vital contribution for the Tigers by shutting down the Yankees lineup, which was playing without their captain Derek Jeter who has been ruled out for the rest of the postseason.
Tigers manager Jim Leyland hailed his starting pitcher's efforts. "He was terrific," he said. "This is a tough place to pitch with a tough lineup and a short porch. And a whole bunch of left-handed hitters, it is not easy. That was quite a feat."
Sanchez added: "I try to think backwards. If the count calls for a fastball, I throw a different pitch. If the count calls for a different pitch, I throw a fastball. I try to mix my speeds."
Meanwhile in the eighth inning, the Yankees manager Girardi was evicted by umpire Jeff Nelson when he argued on a call where Omar Infante was not given out on a play at second base.
The replays revealed Nick Swisher, the right fielder, throwing Infante out at second. However, Nelson ruled that he eluded the tag of second baseman Robinson Cano.
Nelson said after watching a replay: "The hand did not get in before the tag. The call was incorrect."
An exasperated Girardi said: "It's frustrating. I don't have a problem with Jeff's effort, I don't, because he hustled to get to the play. But in this day and age when we have instant replay available to us, it's got to change.
"These guys are under tremendous amounts of pressure. It is a tough call for him because the tag is underneath and it's hard for him to see. And it takes more time to argue and get upset than you get the call right. Too much is at stake."
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