WHAT IT MEANS: The Yankees had a great road trip, going 6-3. Best of all, they beat Tigers' ace Justin Verlander 5-1 on Sunday afternoon at Comerica Park. It allowed the Yankees to take two of three from the Detroit Tigers.

The Yankees jumped on Verlander, who won the AL MVP and AL Cy Young last season. Derek Jeter hit the first pitch of the game for a leadoff homer. They led, 2-0, when Alex Rodriguez got into the act. He blasted a long home run to left-center.

A-Rod's blast measured 447 feet and hit a brick wall out beyond the fence. It was no cheapie. Gave the Bronx Bombers a 3-0 lead and put them en route to had Verlander his third straight loss, the first time since 2008. He's now 5-4.

HUGHES HUGE: Phil Hughes bounced back big time from his last start against the Angels. He was spotted a 3-0 lead in the first inning but couldn't hold it.

Hughes (5-5) was in control, giving up just one run on four hits in a complete-game victory, his first of the season. He threw 123 pitches, 82 for strikes. His lone mistake came in the fourth when he Prince Fielder hit a breaking ball into the right field stands, cutting Detroit's deficit to 3-1.

Coming into the game, the longest Hughes had pitched in a start was 7 2/3 vs. Seattle in a 6-2 win. But in his previous three starts, he never got past six innings of work.

A-ROD BACK: You can bet the Yankees were thrilled to see A-Rod hit that blast against Verlander. Rodriguez drilled a fastball to left-center. It was A-Rod's second homer in the last three games. On Friday night, he blasted a two-run homer to left-center against Octavio Dotel.

CANO DELIVERS: A lot of Yankees have struggled with runners in scoring position, especially Robinson Cano. In fact, on Saturday night in the ninth inning, he popped out in the infield with one out and the bases loaded and the game tied.

In the fifth inning, with Curtis Granderson on second base and two out, Cano ripped an RBI triple to right-center. Granderson scored and so did Cano when the throw back from the outfield got loose and went into the dugout, giving the Yankees a 5-1 advantage.

DUMB DELAY: Game was delayed with two outs in the ninth when a fan ran out onto the field. He went to Nick Swisher and tried to give him a fist pound to which Swisher obliged. "I didn't want to leave the guy hanging, Swisher said. "It told him 'you're about to go to jail.'" The police finally tackled him near second base.

WHAT'S NEXT: An off-day until the Tampa Bay Rays come to the Bronx for a three-game set, starting Tuesday night.