DETROIT, June 1 (UPI) -- Alfonso Soriano and Jorge Posada homered in the top of the 17th inning and David Wells notched a win in his first relief appearance in nearly a decade Sunday as the New York Yankees edged the Tigers, 10-9, in the longest game in the three-plus year history of Comerica Park.
Roger Clemens was staked to a 7-1 lead in the fifth, but was thwarted in his second bid for career victory No. 300 by poor defense and shoddy relief pitching.
Almost as if stunned by the 40-year-old righthander's inability to hold a six-run lead against the worst offense in the major leagues, New York could not push across a run until the 17th.
Soriano opened the inning with his American League-leading 17th home run - a blast to center field off knuckleballer Steve Sparks, who entered the game in the 10th. One out later, Posada ripped a home run to right for a 10-8 lead.
Wells, making his first relief appearance since Aug. 28, 1993 - when he was with Detroit - got two of the first three batters he faced in the bottom of the 17th. But Eric Munson doubled and New York manager Joe Torre turned to Juan Acevedo, who got slumping Shane Halter to fly out to center field.
It was Acevedo's sixth save and enabled the Yankees to avoid becoming the first visiting team to lose a series at Comerica Park in 2003.
The game was not only the longest in Comerica Park history but also featured the biggest crowd since the park opened prior to the 2000 season - 44,095.
