Tigers freeze up late, drop opener to Yanks 6-3

As soon as Justin Verlander was done for the day, the Detroit Tigers froze up.

Verlander held the New York Yankees in check for six innings, throwing 114 pitches in short sleeves on a frigid afternoon, but Phil Coke served up a tiebreaking homer to ex-Tiger Curtis Granderson in the seventh and Detroit dropped its season opener 6-3 on Thursday.

"I just felt absolutely not right. Nothing else to blame but myself," said Coke, scheduled to move into the rotation April 9. "You've got to do your job. I didn't do my job today. I'm irritated with myself because of it."

Third baseman Brandon Inge, normally a reliable fielder, committed a costly throwing error, and a pair of wild pitches by young relievers Ryan Perry and Daniel Schlereth led to insurance runs for New York.

Victor Martinez singled in his first at-bat for Detroit, helping his new team build an early run, and Miguel Cabrera hit a sacrifice fly and scored twice. But by the time Mariano Rivera closed it out for a save, the final 10 Tigers hitters had been retired by New York's imposing bullpen.

"Their bullpen and the long ball is what did us in today," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. "I thought it was actually a decent game for the conditions. It was pretty rough."

Granderson, traded to the Yankees in a December 2009 deal that sent Coke and Austin Jackson to Detroit, also made two terrific plays in center and homered in his third consecutive opener.

Jackson, coming off a strong rookie season, struck out three times in the leadoff spot. He also singled and scored.

Coke (0-1) was brought in to face Granderson in a lefty-on-lefty matchup to start the bottom of the seventh. Coke fell behind 2-0 and Granderson drove the next pitch into the second deck in right.

"Couldn't throw a strike until he hit it out of the yard," Coke said.

Said Leyland: "He just got behind Granderson and left no doubt what was coming."

With the flags above the lights in right field whipping toward the foul pole, Mark Teixeira connected off Verlander for a three-run shot in the third.

"It was a fastball in. He did a pretty good job of turning on it. Not too many hitters can do that," Tigers catcher Alex Avila said.

Slimmed down by 25 pounds after having surgery on his right knee this winter, Yankees starter CC Sabathia gave up six hits and three runs - two earned - in six innings. Making his third opening day start in three seasons with New York, Sabathia struck out seven and walked two.

Joba Chamberlain (1-0), Rafael Soriano and Rivera each pitched a perfect inning.

"We've got to score early in the game," Cabrera said. "They're tough."

Verlander was making his fourth straight opening day start, most for the Tigers since Jack Morris went 10 in a row (1980-90). He was hoping to get off to a quick start after going 1-2 with a 5.29 ERA last year in April before finishing 18-9, and he altered his offseason workout routine to help accomplish that.

"Obviously, coming out of the spring that I had, this is not the result that I wanted," Verlander said. "I felt pretty calm considering opening day, Yankee Stadium - it's hard to keep your adrenaline in check."

The right-hander reached 97 mph on the radar gun in the first, but walked Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez before striking out Robinson Cano with his 31st pitch of the inning.

Verlander gave up just two other hits, including Rodriguez's one-out double in the sixth that hit the fence in right-center just above the 385-foot marker. He walked Cano, but struck out Nick Swisher and Jorge Posada with two deceptive changeups.

"I'm trying to change things around in April. Last April I wore long sleeves," Verlander said. "The only issue when I felt it was really cold on my body was coming out of the dugout. They have heaters in there."

Jhonny Peralta drove in his first run of the month. After going without an RBI in 66 spring at-bats, he hit a sacrifice fly in his first plate appearance to give Detroit the lead in the second inning.

Cabrera lined a single and Martinez hit a hot shot to shortstop that Derek Jeter couldn't corral. The ball squirted into center for a base hit. Sabathia walked the bases loaded before Peralta flied out.

"We did center some balls pretty good off CC, especially early," Leyland said. "We didn't have a lot of luck with it."

Detroit closed to 3-2 on Inge's two-out single in the fourth and tied it on Cabrera's sacrifice fly in the fifth.

NOTES: The last time these teams met on opening day in New York was 1966, with the Tigers winning 2-1. ... Mike Mussina threw out the ceremonial first pitch. ... The Tigers failed to homer for the first time in eight games at the new Yankee Stadium.

Habs jacked up for first tilt with Bruins since Chara knocked out Pacioretty

BROSSARD — For the Montreal Canadiens, the best way to avenge sidelined teammate Max Pacioretty is to steal home-ice advantage in the playoffs from the Boston Bruins.

The Habs will get a chance to narrow the gap Thursday night in a much-anticipated battle with their hated rivals.

It will be the first tilt between the clubs since Bruins captain Zdeno Chara slammed Pacioretty in a violent hit that shook the hockey world.

"If you ask Patch, the biggest thing right now is for us to win," Canadiens forward Ryan White said of his injured teammate Wednesday after practice in Brossard, Que.

"We've given ourselves an opportunity to catch these guys and tomorrow's a big four-point night."

The Canadiens (40-27-7) trail Boston (40-22-10) by three points in the race for the Northeast Division lead. The Bruins have two games in hand.

But White admits that Pacioretty, who suffered a severe concussion and a fractured vertebra from the Chara hit, will be on the players' minds.

That doesn't mean they're planning to do anything "stupid" to exact revenge, he said.

But if knuckles start flying, White insists Montreal will be ready.

"We're going to be jacked up," said White, one of the Canadiens' tougher players.

"I know what I have to do to help this team win."

On March 8, Chara drove Pacioretty's head into the stanchion that holds up the glass separating the player's benches at the Bell Centre.

The home crowd fell silent as the 22-year-old winger lay motionless on the ice after the collision. Many hockey fans have said they immediately feared that he was dead.

Doctors told Pacioretty last week that he might be able to return for the NHL playoffs.

Chara was given a major penalty for interference and a game misconduct and the NHL did not impose any additional discipline.

The incident poured fuel on the already fiery debate on how to deal with hits to the head in the NHL.

The league has faced widespread pressure to reduce violence, including stern remarks from Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Thursday's game will also be the Habs' first tilt in Boston since a brawl-filled 8-6 loss on Feb. 9.

The Canadiens, coming off a 2-0 loss to Buffalo on Tuesday, are 4-1 against the Bruins this season.

Boston beat New Jersey 4-1 at home on Tuesday.

Knicks Seek Identity as the Clock Ticks

After Monday's loss to the Boston Celtics, the Knicks' third in a row and perhaps the most stinging since they acquired Carmelo Anthony last month, their new superstar sat on the bench, blood in his eyes from a collision with Rajon Rondo earlier in the game.

He looked dejected, but like nearly all the Knicks, he said he wasn't thinking about the devastating loss but rather about how this team can right the wrongs that have plagued it during its 7-9 start with Anthony in the lineup.

As new point guard Chauncey Billups said Sunday after a loss in Milwaukee, each game is more about the Knicks and how they are playing than any opponent.

Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni acknowledged this week that these final 12 games, beginning with Wednesday night's game against the Orlando Magic at the Garden, are essentially "open practices," where 18,000 fans watch the Knicks try to find an identity. The hope is that they'll find one before the end of the regular season on April 13.

"We have a little bit under a month to get this thing right and right now we're just figuring this out on the go," Anthony said.

D'Antoni has attributed the Knicks' lack of chemistry to a number of things. Aside from the schedule, he said that many of the same issues that plagued the Knicks when they started the season 3-8—such as inadequate offensive spacing and faulty decision-making—have resurfaced with little time to address them.

"When we looked at 18 games in March, we looked at no practice time at all,'' D'Antoni said. "We looked at what's left, basically three rookies, an eight- man rotation and three new guys, and you start to pull your hair out."

Anthony admitted over the weekend that the chemistry issues may not be solved until next season. He said that when the trade was made, he had no expectations about when the team would jell, only that "it's a long process."

The process, for now, seems like it will have to focus on the offense, where there are signs of an identity crisis.

According to the website Hoopdata, in the last four games, the Knicks haven't had more than 92 possessions. That's a stunning departure from the fast-paced offense that produced as few as 92 possessions just four times in the first 54 games of the season.

D'Antoni has said he's fine with whatever pace Billups wants to run, but D'Antoni has expressed concerns over the offense's performance late in games. In the loss against Boston, the Celtics scored the game's last 10 points.

"We're still trying to get a grip on us," star forward Amar'e Stoudemire. "We know we can be a really good team. It's just a matter of us staying together, for one, and two, to figure out how to win."