Nick Swisher's RBI single broke a tie in the ninth inning as the visiting New York Yankees sent the Detroit Tigers to their seventh straight loss, 5-3 on Monday night.

After a pair of Alex Avila solo home runs helped Detroit erase a 3-0 deficit, Jose Valverde (2-1) allowed two hits, two walks and two earned runs in the ninth.

Alex Rodriguez scored the second run on a passed ball by Avila.

New York took the lead on a two-run ground-rule double by Jorge Posada in the first and Eduardo Nunez' RBI single in the second.

Bartolo Colon allowed three earned runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings as the Yankees won for the third time in four tries against Detroit. Joba Chamberlain (2-0) pitched a scoreless eighth and Mariano Rivera earned his 11th save.

It was another tough-luck no-decision for Justin Verlander, who gave up three earned runs on eight hits and struck out eight in six innings.