Ron Antonelli/New York Daily News Jhonny Peralta rounds the bases as CC Sabathia is left wondering what went wrong as the big Yankees ace is beaten in Game 4 of the ALCS, which eliminates the Bombers from the playoffs. 
 
 TIGERS 8, YANKEES 1 
 
 
 
 DETROIT — When it was all over, when the final out was recorded, another historic Yankee October was complete. 
 
 
 
 But, unlike 27 victorious postseasons before this one, this playoff run didn’t end with a World Series title, a champagne celebration and a parade up the Canyon of Heroes. 
 
 
 
 BE THE GM! PLAY YANKEES KEEP 'EM OR DUMP 'EM NOW! 
 
 
 
 No, when this historic Yankee postseason came to a close with an 8-1 loss and a four-game sweep in the ALCS at the hands of the Detroit Tigers, it was accompanied by these mind-numbing “highlights”: a .188 team batting average, the worst in postseason history; a lineup that managed only six runs in four games; and two of the Yanks’ biggest stars - Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano - going a combined 6-for-65. It was a complete embarrassment in every sense of the word. 
 
 
 
 PHOTOS: YANKEES SWEPT OUT OF PLAYOFFS BY TIGERS 
 
 
 
 “They just kicked our butts, plain and simple,” Mark Teixeira said. “We didn’t get the job done and they played really, really well.” 
 
 
 
 Joe Girardi, who juggled his lineup all series with no results at all, got emotional afterward, the death of his father nearly two weeks ago still on his mind. 
 
 
 
 “You work a long time to get to this point every year,” Girardi said. “To have it end abruptly — and it’s going end abruptly for all but one team — it’s really, really difficult.” 
 
 Ron Antonelli/New York Daily News 
 
 CC Sabathia was torched for six runs in 3.2 innings, recording the same number of outs - 11 — as hits allowed. His counterpart, Max Scherzer, no-hit the Yanks through five, then handed it off to Detroit’s bullpen with two out in the sixth as the Tigers won their 11th AL pennant. 
 
 
 
 The Yankees completed one of the most anemic postseasons in history, scoring only one run to give them a grand total of six in the series. By comparison, ALCS MVP Delmon Young drove in six runs by himself in the sweep. “We didn’t do our jobs,” Robinson Cano said. “You have to give credit to the Tigers. That’s all you can do.” 
 
 
 
 It was an ignominious ending to what had been a gritty season for the Yanks, who never surrendered first place in the AL East despite watching their 10-game lead in mid-July disappear by Labor Day. After finally getting rid of the Orioles for good with their five-game victory in the AL division series, the Yankees were ready to start with a clean slate against the Tigers, the team that ended their season in the first round last year. 
 
 
 
 The Bombers, who scored 804 runs during the regular season — second only to Texas’ 808 among all 30 big-league teams — struggled to do anything against the Tigers. 
 
 Ron Antonelli/New York Daily News 
 
 The Bombers finished the series hitting .157, a franchise record for futility that had stood since 1963, when the Bombers hit .171 in their World Series loss to the Dodgers. The Yankees hit .188 for the entire postseason, wasting a bevy of solid pitching performances. 
 
 
 
 “We didn’t swing the bats,” Girardi said. “It wasn’t one guy, it wasn’t two guys; it was a bunch of guys. And it’s hard to win when you don’t score runs.” 
 
 
 
 The Yankees never held a lead during the four-game sweep as they scored in only three of the series’ 39 innings, one of which was the four-run ninth in Game 1 against struggling closer Jose Valverde. 
 
 
 
 “It’s something about Detroit,” Alex Rodriguez said. “It seems that they’ve had their way with us. We’ve had some not so good feelings in this clubhouse. I’m not sure whether it’s matchups or what; they just outplayed us.” 
 
 Ron Antonelli/New York Daily News 
 
 Cano, who ended the season as the hottest hitter in the majors, went 3-for-40 (.075) during the playoffs. Curtis Granderson went 3-for-30 (.100) with 16 strikeouts, while Nick Swisher was 5-for-30 (.167) in what will likely be his final games in pinstripes. Then there was A-Rod, who started Game 4 on the bench before being sent out to pinch-hit in the sixth with the Yanks trailing by five runs. He went 0-for-2 off the bench, finishing his postseason 3-for-25 (.120). 
 
 
 
 “This was a terrible way for the season to end,” Rodriguez said. “Obviously we’re all very disappointed. You’re crushed; you work eight months to get to this point. I know there are a lot of teams that would love to get in this position in the ALCS with an opportunity to go to the World Series, but we just came up short.” 
 
 
 
 Sabathia, who extended the Yanks’ season last week with his brilliant Game 5 start against the O’s, didn’t have his best stuff on Thursday. The Tigers scored a run in the first on Young’s RBI single to right, then added another in the third on Avisail Garcia’s bases-loaded infield hit. 
 
 
 
 In the fourth, Miguel Cabrera belted a two-run homer to left - his first blast of the postseason - to make it 4-0, then Jhonny Peralta followed with another two-run shot to left. Sabathia gave up a double to center by Andy Dirks, the Tigers’ 11th hit of the game, bringing Girardi out of the dugout to end Sabathia’s misery. “I was terrible today,” Sabathia said. “It’s embarrassing to me to be able to come out and not give our team a chance to win.” 
 
 
 
 The Yank hitters didn’t help, either. Scherzer took his no-hitter into the sixth, striking out nine of the 17 batters he faced through the first five frames. Eduardo Nunez broke up the no-no with a leadoff triple to left in the sixth, scoring on Swisher’s double to right to put the Yankees on the board. 
 
 
 
 Scherzer went on to issue a two-out walk to Mark Teixeira, ending his day after 98 pitches. Jim Leyland brought in lefty Drew Smyly, one of the few pitchers the Yankees felt A-Rod could handle, so Girardi sent him to the plate to pinch-hit for Raul Ibanez. A-Rod couldn’t get the Yanks any closer, hitting a weak fly to center to end the inning. The Yankees never threatened again, their entire season going up in smoke. 
 
 
 
 “There’s only one happy team at the end of the season,” Swisher said. “It’s just not us this year.” ||||| The sun has broken through this afternoon and Game 4 of the American League Championship Series is underway from Detroit's Comerica Park. 
 
 Max Scherzer will try and pitch the Tigers into the World Series while CC Sabathia will do his best to keep the New York Yankees alive. 
 
 SCORE UPDATE: 
 
 FINAL: Tigers 8 - 1 Yankees 
 
 Tigers Win Series 4-0 
 
 Tigers win 11th AL Pennant 
 
 W: Scherzer 
 
 L: Sabathia ||||| NEW YORK (AP) — The fan at Yankee Stadium who wound up with the ball that Alex Rodriguez launched for his 3,000th hit is holding on to the prized souvenir. 
 
 New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez watches his home run, his 3,000th career hit, during the first inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday, June 19, 2015, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank... (Associated Press) 
 
 New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez leaves the field after the Yankees' baseball game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday, June 19, 2015, in New York. Rodriguez had his 3,000th career hit as the Yankees... (Associated Press) 
 
 In a photo provided by Zack Hample, Zack Hample holds the baseball that New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez hit on a home run for his 3,000th career hit, in the Yankees' baseball game against the Detroit... (Associated Press) 
 
 New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez hits a home run for his 3,000th career hit, during the first inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers Friday, June 19, 2015, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin... (Associated Press) 
 
 New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez waves to fans as he leaves the field after the Yankees' baseball game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday, June 19, 2015, in New York. Rodriguez hit his 3,000th career... (Associated Press) 
 
 New York Yankees fans cheer for Alex Rodriguez after a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday, June 19, 2015, in New York. The Yankees won 7-2. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) (Associated Press) 
 
 In a photo provided by Zack Hample, Zack Hample holds the baseball that New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez hit on a home run for his 3,000th career hit, in the Yankees' baseball game against the Detroit... (Associated Press) 
 
 For now, anyway. 
 
 "At first, I was 100 percent adamant about not giving the ball back," Zack Hample told The Associated Press by telephone late Friday night. "Now, I'm thinking about it." 
 
 "I'm not making any definite decisions tonight and probably not tomorrow, either," he said an hour after New York beat Detroit 7-2. "I want to enjoy the moment." 
 
 The 37-year-old Hample has some experience in this area. He describes himself as a pro at catching home run balls, has written books about the art and has snagged — get this — a whopping 8,161 baseballs at stadiums around the country. 
 
 "Got 12 tonight. Got 11 in batting practice and one during the game by some guy," he said, laughing. 
 
 Hample is a New Yorker and a Yankees season-ticket holder. He was in his favorite spot — section 103, row 12, seat 24 — in right field when Rodriguez connected for a solo shot in the first inning. 
 
 Hample raised his Rawlings glove, but the crowd surge pushed him forward. Good fortune was on his side, however. 
 
 "I looked down and the ball was at my feet. It ricocheted, and it was almost touching my shoe," he said. 
 
 Hample snapped up the ball and posted a picture of it on Twitter. Quickly, the Yankees visited him and tried to see what it would take to make a deal. Not an easy negotiation, either. 
 
 A day earlier, Hample tweeted about Rodriguez: "That man deserves favors from no one, least of all a fan." 
 
 After talking to the Yankees, Hample posted that he "told the Yankees I'm keeping it." 
 
 Rodriguez, meanwhile, later mentioned the fan who snared Derek Jeter's home run ball for his 3,000th hit in 2011. That man was all too eager to return it to the former Yankees star. 
 
 "Where's Jeet's guy? That's the guy I needed," Rodriguez said. "I wasn't so lucky." 
 
 In the late innings, it appeared to be a lost cause. Yankees spokesman Jason Zillo said efforts to have the man deal directly with team president Randy Levine didn't work. 
 
 "As far as we're concerned, we have done everything we could to engage this guy in some type of discussion about some type of exchange. He had none of anything we were saying. He wouldn't engage at all," Zillo said. "He is not intending to give it to us." 
 
 "This guy is pretty well-documented. A professional home run catcher," Zillo said. 
 
 Hample has returned balls in the past. He said he gave back the first home runs hit by Mike Trout and Didi Gregorius, free of charge. 
 
 "This is something more special," Hample said. 
 
 But Hample ended up watching the ninth inning with Levine and Chief Operating Officer Lonn Trost, and said he's considering what to do. 
 
 "They were so nice, and that made me think about what I want to do," Hample said. "There's no right or wrong in this. We'll just see."
– It's a tough night to be a Yankees fan. The Detroit Tigers thumped the Yanks 8-1 tonight to sweep the ALCS and advance to the World Series. How bad was it? The Yankees not only failed to win a game, they never even led one, points out the New York Times. "Mowed Down in Motown," says the headline in the New York Post, which notes that this is the first postseason sweep of the Yankees since 1976. "Motown and Out!" says the Daily News, whose story pronounces the sweep "embarrassing." Maybe worse than the hometown abuse is Tom Gage's line in the Detroit News that the Tigers "stepped over the pebble-sized obstacle the Yankees proved to be." The Tigers will face the winner of the Giants-Cardinals series, and Bleacher Report has plenty more on that series as well the Tigers-Yankees here.