Yankees 6, Tigers 5

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Kei Igawa had an adventurous debut.

The Japanese left-hander allowed two runs, two hits, three walks Monday in the New York Yankees' 6-5 win over the Detroit Tigers.

Igawa struck out three and faced eight batters, getting three outs before leaving in the second.

"The only thing I saw was overstriding," Yankees catcher Jorge Posada said. "When you strike the guys out, you obviously made some good pitches. When you walk the guys, everything is up in the zone."

Igawa loaded the bases on two walks and a single, with no outs in the first. After striking out Carlos Guillen, Ryan Raburn walked to put the Tigers ahead 1-0. Igawa avoided further damage when he struck out Brent Clevlen and Brandon Inge.

"He looked like he rushed himself a little bit," New York manager Joe Torre said. "He just didn't seem to finish off pitches. The first time out, maybe getting a little over anxious."

Igawa was pulled after Sean Casey's second-inning leadoff single on his 40th pitch. Casey scored later to make it 2-0.

"The result was not good, but it's something I can learn (from) and go forward," Igawa said through a translator. "It's the same as Japan right now during the same time. My pitches are usually higher."

Clevlen was hit in the head by a Tyler Clippard pitch in the sixth -- the Tigers said later that he was OK.

New York closer Mariano Rivera worked a perfect third in his first spring training appearance. He had two strikeouts.

Rivera, sidelined from Aug. 31 to Sept. 22 last year because of a muscle strain near his right elbow, has felt fine since spring training began.

"I feel really, really good," he said.

Minor leaguer Bronson Sardinha hit a winning, two-run homer off Felix Heredia with two outs in the ninth as the Yankees improved to 5-0, their best spring training start since opening 1993 with eight victories in a row.

"I'm trying to take advantage of every opportunity I get to play," Sardinha said. "Every time I go in, show something so later in the season if there are injuries they'll have a feeling of what I can do."

Hideki Matsui hit a two-run homer during a three-run second off Justin Verlander. The reigning AL Rookie of the Year gave up three runs and three hits in two innings and had one strikeout during a 34-pitch outing.

Alex Rodriguez hit an RBI single in the fourth that extended the lead to 4-2. Detroit went up 5-4 on Placido Polanco's two-run double in the fifth.

Game notes
Yankees owner George Steinbrenner watched from his suite. ... Tigers DH Gary Sheffield was hit by a pitch in the lower back during the second, but remained in the game. He went 0-for-2 with a walk and an RBI grounder. ... Yankees RF Bobby Abreu (strained right oblique) could start swinging a bat in the next couple days. ... Torre said the mother of 1B Andy Phillips, who was seriously injured in a car accident last week, is scheduled for surgery Tuesday. "Which is good news because they feel that she is able to do that," Torre said. ... New York C Todd Pratt (bruised left heel) underwent tests.