The up-and-coming Americans are aiming for a sixth straight win with Jason Dominguez

Jason Dominguez’s early production helps with that New York Yankees possibly an inch behind in the American League wildcard race.

Above .500 for the first time in over three weeks Yanks will look to extend their winning streak to a season-high of six games on Thursday night when they host Detroit Tigers. New York will be looking to win a three-game streak.

The Yanks (70-69) are 5-0 since Dominguez was promoted from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre on Friday. He hit a two-run home run in his first batting career, added a crucial two-run home run on Sunday, and then hit the crucial home run to seal the third inning of New York’s 4-3 win over Detroit on Wednesday open.

Dominguez scored three times Wednesday and has gone 7-21 (.333) since joining. Yanks. He is the second player in team history, alongside his Triple-A manager Shelley Duncan (three homers in 2007), to hit at least three homers in his first five games of his career.

“He’s playing with this little grin on his face and enjoying playing baseball at the moment.” Yanks said manager Aaron Boone of his new racquet. “Of course right in the middle when we win games.”

The Yanks are 10-4 since losing nine straight from Aug. 12-22, their longest loss since 1982. New York is 6 1/2 games from the AL’s last wildcard spot and is seeking its first winning streak of six games since seven wins at direct September 18-25, 2022.

Along with Dominguez, Aaron Judge had two hits and a walk on Wednesday and reached base in seven of his last nine plate appearances.

Detroit (63-76) is hoping to avoid a ninth straight loss in New York. Kerry Carpenter and Andy Ibanez reached RBI singles on Wednesday, but the tiger Eleven times the visitors stood out and were slowed down by an inability to stop Dominguez from hitting a home run.

“He’s an exciting young player,” said Detroit manager AJ Hinch. “I like young players and when they show up they look good straight away. Watch out, because he sure looks like it. He put the ball in play against us. He hit the ball hard. He hit the ball out of the stadium, so.” It looks like he’s off to a good start.

Hinch’s other concern involves his pitching team, which has been taxed for the past two days. The tiger used six pitchers in a scheduled bullpen game on Tuesday and was forced to do the same on Wednesday after Matt Manning broke his right foot on a comeback from Giancarlo Stanton in the first inning.

In the final of the series, Carlos Rodon (2-4, 5.70 ERA) will make his 10th start as a Yankee and fourth since missing two weeks with a hamstring injury. Rodon allowed two runs with three hits in five innings in a win in Houston on Friday and is 1-0 with a 2.87 ERA since returning from his third injury of the season.

Rodon is 6-2 with a 4.50 ERA in 11 career starts against Detroit. In the end he faced it tiger on August 23, 2022, when he hit 10 strikeouts and allowed one run in seven innings while leading the San Francisco Giants to a 3-1 win.

Eduardo Rodriguez (10-7, 3.11 ERA) will get the ball tiger. He allowed a run-in-six in 6 2/3 innings in Friday’s 4-2 win over hosts Chicago White Sox.

Since conceding five runs in a 12-3 loss to the Oakland A’s on July 5, Rodriguez has been at 6-2 and a 3.76 ERA in his last nine starts. During that span, the left-hander has allowed two runs or fewer six times and gone seven innings twice.

Rodriguez is 8-6 with a 3.76 ERA in 24 career appearances (22 starts) against the Yanks and makes his second start against them as Tiger. He last met them on April 20, 2022 in Detroit, when he allowed three runs in six innings in a 5-3 loss.

—Field-level media