Near Tripleheader for Tigers, Yankees

By the time the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees finished the first game of their doubleheader, it felt like they’d already played two.

The Tigers took 17 innings to beat the Yankees, 4-3, in the opener Monday night at New York, while the Yankees needed only nine to win the second game, 4-3. The final out came at 1:17 a.m. EDT.

In the 5-hour 50-minute first game, Joe Randa’s run-scoring single in the 17th decided the outcome. It was the longest game in the majors this season, lasting one minute longer than a Toronto-Baltimore game on June 19.

The Yankees had plenty of chances, leaving 22 runners on base. They left the bases loaded in the eighth, 10th, 12th and 15th, and were hitless in their last 16 at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Both teams used their entire bullpen. Twenty players saw action for the Tigers, 18 for the Yankees.

Cleveland 5, Chicago 4--Jim Thome hit his 26th homer, a leadoff shot in the fourth inning, and the Indians won at Chicago for a split of their four-game series.

Albert Belle and Frank Thomas homered for Chicago. Belle has 11 homers in his last 13 games.