The Yankees looked pretty bad against the Tigers on Monday night, striking out 14 times and mustering no earned runs against Detroit's Justin Verlander.
But don't give the reigning American League MVP and Cy Young winner all of the credit in this one. The Yankees may have been a little distracted coming in.
Derek Jeter seemed reticent to head to batting practice Monday. His reason for loitering in the clubhouse was the same thing that kept many others glued to their TVs that afternoon — the U.S. Women's Soccer team was battling Canada in the semifinals of the Olympics.
"Can someone get the game on up there?" Jeter asked when it was time to head to the batting cage, according to USAToday.com.
The U.S. had battled back from one-goal deficits three times already when the game headed into extra time, with Alex Morgan's goal in the 122nd minute giving the U.S. victory just before the game would be sent to penalty kicks. The 4-3 win puts Team USA in the gold medal match against Japan, the same team that beat the U.S. in the World Cup final last year.
Jeter was apparently not the only major leaguer caught up in the match — the Nationals also had it on before their game, according to Amanda Comak of the Washington Times via USAToday.com.
Who knows whether the baseball players got to see the epic finish, but they weren't alone in watching the game unfold. Many stars from across sports gave a shout-out to the U.S. team in its win.
The Nationals' divided attention seemed to be less of a problem in their game — Washington beat Houston 5-4, albeit in 11 innings. And, although the Yankees lost 7-2, Jeter was 2-for-5.
