Vazquez looks sharp as Yanks drop opener

DETROIT - The Yankees weren't looking for miracles, just something to build on by skipping Javier Vazquez in the rotation.

"It'll take some steps," general manager Brian Cashman said when the decision was made early last week to skip Vazquez in Boston. "It's not going to all of a sudden be 'Shazam' and it will be a lights-out Javy Vazquez start that we saw last year."

Vazquez turned out to be pretty close to that pitcher Wednesday afternoon, but with no help from his offense against Rick Porcello, he lost a 2-0 decision to the Tigers at Comerica Park, the first game of a day/night doubleheader.

Vazquez, who came in 1-3 with a 9.78 ERA, pitched five shutout innings before the Tigers (19-14) got two runs off him in the sixth. He ended up allowing just those two runs and five hits in seven innings.

But Vazquez was outpitched by Porcello, who allowed no runs and four hits in seven innings. Ryan Perry pitched a 1-2-3 eighth and Jose Valverde, who struck out the side in earning the save Monday, allowed a two-out walk in the ninth, but earned his 10th save in the game that took just 2 hours, 15 minutes to complete.

Two former Yankees played roles in the key sixth inning. Austin Jackson, included in the Curtis Granderson trade, led off with a single and moved to third on a single by Johnny Damon, who homered in Monday's night's Tigers' victory. Magglio Ordonez followed by grounding into a force play to bring Jackson in to make it 1-0 and, after Miguel Cabrera's single, Brennan Boesch, who hit an RBI triple Monday, made it 2-0 with a single to right.

Vazquez, looking more relaxed than he had all season and, more importantly, with pitches moving in ways they hadn't all season, struck out seven and walked two.

But Porcello, though giving the Yankees opportunities early on, was a bit better.

The Yankees (21-11) left six on base through five innings, including leaving the bases loaded in the second.

Vazquez needed 13 pitches to get through the first inning and had thrown just 42 through four innings. The Tigers didn't get a base runner until Gerald Laird's one-out infield single - Mark Teixeira couldn't dig Derek Jeter's throw out of the dirt - in the third, and they didn't have a runner reach second until Vazquez surrendered back-to-back walks with two outs in the fifth. Vazquez, who had retired 14 of the first 15 hitters he faced until the first of those walks, calmly finished that inning by striking out Adam Everett with a darting 89-mph fastball.

"I want to see him compete at a high level," manager Joe Girardi said before the game. "Be aggressive, get some quick outs, let your defense play behind you and get deep in the game for us."

Vazquez did just that Wednesday but with no offense backing him, it wasn't enough.