Tigers 8, Yankees 4
Austin Jackson had three hits and scored three runs and Prince Fielder drove in a pair as Detroit clinched the three-game set against visiting New York.
Miguel Cabrera went 4-for-4 with an RBI and Torii Hunter recorded three hits and drove in a run in support of Max Scherzer (1-0), who struck out seven while allowing four runs and five hits in five-plus innings for the Tigers.
Phil Hughes (0-1) was activated off the disabled list to make the start for the Yankees and made it through four-plus frames, yielding four runs - three earned - and eight hits while striking out four. Vernon Wells homered and Lyle Overbay drove in a pair for New York, which fell to 1-4.
Detroit jumped on top with a four-run rally in the fifth as Jackson led off with a single and came home on Hunter’s double before Cabrera chased Hughes with an RBI single to center. Victor Martinez tacked on a sacrifice fly and Jhonny Peralta singled in a run to complete the uprising.
Scherzer cruised through the first five innings but had a long wait while the Tigers were batting in the fifth and walked the first two batters he faced in the sixth before surrendering an RBI single to Travis Hafner. Right-hander Al Alburquerque came on in relief and yielded a two-run single to Overbay but managed to hold the lead.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Fielder, who got Detroit started with a sacrifice fly in the first, added an RBI groundout in a two-run sixth as the Tigers pulled away. … Yankees 3B Kevin Youkilis hit his 250th career double off Scherzer in the third. … New York 2B Robinson Cano went 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts and is 2-for-18.