Five months later, both teams are in heated playoff races as the Yankees host the Tigers in a three-game series that begins Tuesday. The Yankees (80-63) dropped two of three at Detroit in April when the gametime temperature was never higher than 42 degrees. New York won the final game of the series and took a seven-game lead in the AL East through May 28 before experiencing a two-month slump. The Yankees went 25-34 from May 30-Aug. 5 but have since recovered.