Detroit Tigers Beat NY Yankees 8-1 in Game 4 to Complete ALCS Sweep

Spurred by an offensive awakening and a fantastic pitching performance from Max Scherzer, the Detroit Tigers defeated the New York Yankees, 8-1, to complete their sweep and advance to the 2012 World Series.

Detroit's onslaught started slow with small-ball run creation to give the team a 2-0 lead through three innings.

After a fantastic four games, outfielder Delmon Young, who went 2-for-4 with an RBI on Thursday, was named the named the ALCS MVP.

"

BREAKING: Delmon Young named #ALCS MVP. He hit .353 with 2 HR and 6 RBI.

— MLB (@MLB) October 19, 2012"

While Young was great the entire series, the rest of the Tigers' lineup ended its struggles and rocked Yankees ace CC Sabathia.

That was only the precursor, however, as Sabathia's pitches looked flat from the opening inning and the floodgates opened up in the fourth.

First it was Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera, who sent a towering two-run blast over the left-field fence for his first home run of the 2012 playoffs. Cabrera's big fly was followed up by another two-run shot by Jhonny Peralta, which sent Sabathia packing after giving up six runs on 11 hits in 3.2 innings. 

In fact, Sabathia's performance was so disappointing that it made a bit of interesting history. According to ESPN Stats and Information, Sabathia was the first pitcher in postseason history to allow 11 or more hits while recording 10 or fewer outs. 

Nevertheless, the true star of Thursday evening was Scherzer, who was nothing short of sensational against the depleted Yankees lineup.

The right-hander went through the first five innings without allowing a hit before running into a bit of trouble in the sixth inning, allowing two hits that gave New York its only run. 

From there, Detroit's bullpen continued Scherzer's dominance, and solo home runs from Peralta (his second of the game) and Austin Jackson finalized the score at 8-1.

For the Yankees, this ends what can only be deemed an embarrassing series. According to ESPN's Buster Olney, this was the first time since 1963 that New York failed to hold a lead at any point in a playoff series:

"

Unless the Yankees have a crazy comeback, this will be 1st postseason series in which they failed to hold a lead since the '63 World Series.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) October 18, 2012"

Going forward, the talk will be about how things came apart offensively. According to ESPN's Jayson Stark, the Yankees bats fell continually silent, failing to score more than one run in any inning before the ninth.

"

Another #Yankees tidbit to ponder: Never scored more than one run in any inning before the 9th -- in the entire postseason.

— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) October 18, 2012"

That failure will undoubtedly lead to rampant speculation about the future of many notable stars. However, a quick glance at the New York roster should make it apparent that this team overachieved in 2012 and should be proud of its accomplishments.

Something just tells me the Yankees' front office won't see it that way.

Meanwhile, the Tigers have taken everything we thought we found out about baseball over the past few years, thumbed their nose at it and made the World Series. This isn't a team built for the sabermetric community, but instead, one that relies on old-fashioned power from both the offense and pitching staff to win.

Detroit certainly won't complain about getting a sweep, but will be left waiting for the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants to sort out their series.

Luckily for the Tigers, that will also give them time to prepare, set their rotation and reflect on an evisceration of the Yankees in the ALCS.

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