Tigers' Delmon Young wreaks havoc on Yankees again

• Young's home run was his seventh in the postseason, a Tigers record
• Five of his seven postseason homers have come against the Yankees

DETROIT -- One run.

The way ace Justin Verlander was pitching, that looked like all the Detroit Tigers would need to take a commanding lead in the American League Championship Series.

But New York Yankees starter Phil Hughes was matching zeroes with Verlander through the first three innings.

That's when Delmon Young rocketed a 1-2 pitch from Hughes over the left field wall to break up the scoreless tie and give Verlander that precious first run.

"I knew I hit it hard enough, but we weren't in Yankee Stadium so I knew I'd have to wait another 30 feet or so for it to come down," Young said.

This postseason, Young – and not MVP candidate Miguel Cabrera or slugger Prince Fielder – has been the Tigers' biggest offensive weapon.

"He had a great postseason last year and he picked up right where he left off," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "A huge hit tonight."

Young has hit .267 (8-for-30) with two of the team's four playoff homers and a team-leading seven RBI.

Not bad for a defensively challenged fielder who, despite being just 27, was almost four times as likely this season to be in the lineup as a DH (118 games) as he was in the outfield (31).

Young's blast signaled the beginning of the end for Hughes, who left after issuing a walk to the next batter with a back strain. It also signaled the beginning of the end for the Yankees in Game 3.

An unearned run in the fifth turned out to be the winning margin when Verlander allowed a solo homer to Eduardo Nunez in the bottom of the ninth. But Young's blast to open the scoring was the offensive key to the victory that gave the Tigers a commanding three games to none lead in the series.

"It's always big, especially when you score first," said Tigers first baseman Prince Fielder. "And not to mention we had Justin on the mound. Anytime you get the first couple runs to start the game is always a good thing."

The home run was also Young's seventh career in the postseason — more than any other Tiger in history. And the club didn't even acquire him until 14 months ago in a post-deadline waiver trade from the Minnesota Twins.

What's the secret to his success?

"I don't know," Young said. "It just seems good things have been happening in the postseason."

Although he was the top overall pick in the 2003 draft, Young doesn't have a laundry list of accomplishments that often come with that distinction. Only once in his seven major league seasons has he hit more than 20 homers or driven in more than 100 runs. (Both came in 2010 with the Twins.)

But what Young has done is make his mark in the postseason, particularly against the Yankees. Five of his seven playoff homers have come against them.

In fact, he's faced the Yanks in the playoffs in each of the past four seasons – twice with the Twins and now twice with the Tigers.

Last year, he helped propel Detroit to victory in the Division Series with solo shots in Games 1, 3 and 5. An opposite-field shot off Rafael Soriano in the seventh inning of Game 3 was the difference in a 5-4 win.

This season, he had another late homer in the series opener, and against the Yankees as a Tiger he's a .455 hitter with five homers and eight RBI.

How to explain his performance against the guys in pinstripes?

"Good things have been happening," Young would only say.

Perhaps the ultimate sign of how badly he's been hurting the Yankees came in the bottom of the fifth when with a runner on second and first base open, he received an intentional walk – something that happened only one time during the regular season.

One.

Now, the Tigers now need just one more win to reach the World Series.

In Young's book, that might even qualify as a great thing.