Every Major League postseason game has a turning point -- a moment that was crucial to one team winning or losing. During the American League Division Series between the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers, SB Nation New York has decided to select a turning point for each game. We will relive that moment and break it down to explain why if it didn't happen, the Yankees would have either won or lost the game. If you have an opinion, please feel free to discuss in the comment section below. (Turning point: Game 1, Game 2.)
SB Nation's New York's Game 3 turning point in the Yankees, 5-4, loss to the Tigers Monday night came in the blink of an eye. With one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, Detroits outfielder Delmon Young hit a solo home run off of Yankee relief pitcher Rafael Soriano to break a 4-4 tie and help the Tigers earn a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-five series.
Young's 13th homer not only gave the Tigers a one-run lead, but it also answered a Yankees two-run rally in the top of the seventh inning that knotted the game at 4. New York's seventh-inning rally seemed to have turned the tide in the contest, which featured Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander just mowing down Yankee after Yankee.
Before the seventh, with the score 4-2 Detroit, New York fans were already discussing Game 4, which will feature the Yankees' A.J. Burnett against Detroit's Rick Porcello Tuesday night. However, with two outs in the seventh, designated hitter Jorge Posada walked and catcher Russell Martin was hit with a pitch. With runners on second and first base and a three-ball, two-strike count -- which allowed the runners to be moving as the pitch was being delivered -- outfielder Brett Gardner smacked a double into the left-center field gap that scored two runs and tied the contest at 4.
With the momentum in the Yankees favor, Young belted the homer, which came on the first pitch from Soriano. In the top of the eighth, Verlander was able to breeze through the order and then closer Jose Valverde saved his second consecutive game.