DETROIT _ Aaron Boone all season has praised his team's ability to, for the most part, "take care of business" on a daily basis.
That didn't happen in the series opener Tuesday night when the Yankees, sloppy on the mound and in the field, kicked away an early six-run lead after two innings in a disappointing loss.
But on a cool afternoon in front of a small, mostly indifferent crowd Thursday afternoon at Comerica Park in the first game of a doubleheader against the beyond terrible Tigers, the Yankees methodically did what they had to do in coasting to a 10-4 victory.
But, as is the case so often in 2019, the news wasn't all good as Edwin Encarnacion, who earlier in the day hit his 34th homer, left mid-game with a left oblique strain. The veteran, who recently came off the injured list after missing a month because of a right wrist fracture, will return to New York Friday for additional testing, but his return would seem to be a longshot.
Luke Voit went 3-for-5 with a homer, a double and three RBIs. His home run, along with Encarnacion's, gave the Yankees (96-51) an MLB-leading 278, one ahead of the Twins (the Yankees last season hit a then-MLB-record 267 homers).
J.A. Happ wasn't as sharp as in his two previous outings when he allowed no runs and a combined three hits, but was OK. He extended his scoreless innings streak to 20 before Dawel Lugo's two-run homer with two outs in the fifth cut the Yankees' lead to 4-2. Happ allowed those two runs, seven hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out seven.
Aaron Judge went 1-for-2 with three walks and four runs, and Austin Romine added three hits and a run.
Happ (13-8) had a 2-0 lead before throwing his first pitch.
With one out in the first against Matthew Boyd, Judge reached on an error by Lugo, the third baseman. Encarnacion flied to right � his at-bat was extended when catcher Jake Rogers dropped a foul pop for the Tigers' second error of the inning � and Voit followed by blasting a 1-and-0 pitch an estimated 449 feet to dead center, his 20th homer giving the Yankees the lead for good.
Happ, after stranding two in the first, stranded two more in the second, fortunate that another brutal play in the field by Clint Frazier, who started in left, didn't hurt him. After striking out Christian Stewart and Travis Demeritte to start the second, Rogers drove one into the gap in left-center. Frazier, after taking an awkward route, got in position to make the catch but didn't as the ball banged off his glove, the play generously scored as a double. Willi Castro walked, but Happ got leadoff man Victor Reyes to fly to right.
Encarnacion made it 4-0 in the third with a two-run homer to left, the blast giving the Yankees 24 homers in 10 games this September.
Happ stranded two more in the fourth, striking out Reyes with runners at second and third, giving the pitcher five strikeouts through four innings and seven stranded.
The Tigers cut their deficit in half in the fifth when Ronny Rodriguez singled with two outs and Lugo ripped a 1-and-1 pitch to right, his fifth homer making it 4-2. After Christian Stewart followed with a single, Boone brought on Chad Green, who went on to allow one run and one hit over 2 1/3 innings.
The Yankees extended their lead in the seventh against righty Bryan Garcia. Judge led off with a walk, his third of the game, and Voit doubled to right. An intentional walk to Didi Gregorius loaded the bases and, with Gio Urshela at the plate, a wild pitch brought in Judge to make it 5-2. Maybin then slashed a two-run double to right-center to make it 7-2.
The Tigers got one back in the seventh off Green but Voit's RBI single in the eighth pushed the lead back to five at 8-3 and Gregorius' two-run triple later in the inning made it 10-3.
