DETROIT -- The weather in Detroit is supposed to warm up a little on Friday.
The Tigers will have to hope their offense comes out of the freezer at the same time.
For the second time in 24 hours, the Tigers struggled badly in brutal weather conditions, managing just three hits in a 2-1 loss to the New York Yankees. Detroit has now scored one run in its last 17 innings, all played with temperatures in the 30s and wind chills in the 20s.
"Cold weather doesn't help any batter, and hitting is a hard thing to do," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "You've got to give the pitcher some credit. That being said, we've gotta score more than one run -- not necessarily today, but if we score one run on a daily basis, that's a problem."
The Yankees didn't have any trouble in Wednesday night's snow showers, scoring 13 runs off David Price and a parade of relief pitchers, but they also struggled on Thursday. Anibal Sanchez matched Masahiro Tanaka inning for inning, leaving with the score tied at 1 in the seventh.
"He threw strikes with all his pitches,” Ausmus said. "He used all his pitches and he mixed things up. He's been trying to be less rotational and come directly to the plate, and he was very good.”
After allowing 14 runs in 9 2/3 innings over his last two starts, Sanchez allowed the Yankees just one hit. He did walk four batters, but he struck out eight, and even more important, didn't allow a home run.
The only run Sanchez gave up came when he balked with Jacoby Ellsbury on third in the sixth inning. Ellsbury bluffed to the plate, and Sanchez came out of his delivery to step off the rubber and throw home.
The umpires delayed making the call, but third-base umpire Gerry Davis eventually did and then threw Ausmus out of the game for arguing.
"Initially, I thought that Sanchie had stepped off with his right foot, but after seeing the replay, he balked," Ausmus said. "It wasn't smooth, in terms of the timing, but he got the call right, so you can't really argue it."
Even the bullpen, which struggled badly in recent days, looked better on Thursday. Tom Gorzelanny got Sanchez out of a jam in the seventh, but Ellsbury's speed helped him manufacture another run in the eighth. He hit a ball into left-center and turned it into a double, then took third on a sacrifice fly.
Gene Lamont, managing after Ausmus was ejected, had Carlos Beltran intentionally walked to set up a double-play chance. Brian McCann then grounded to first, but Cabrera couldn't make a clean pickup, preventing the double play and allowing the go-ahead run to score.
Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller finished the game from there, retiring the last seven Tigers in order.
Temperatures are expected to be in the low 50s at game time Friday night, but one of Detroit's offensive stars doesn't think that should matter.
"There are no excuses about the weather," said Victor Martinez. "They are hitting and playing defense in the same weather. It doesn't change for them."
