Out of 2012 World Series: Yankees Swept by Tigers

For the first time in over 20 years, New York was swept in an postseason appearance.

The Yankees seasonended on Thursday with an 8-1 loss to the Tigers in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series at Comerica Park.

Manager Joe Girardi said the loss was "extremely difficult."

"You work a long time to get to this point, and to have it end abruptly, it is really, really difficult," Girardi said. "We didn't swing the bats. 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."

Robinson Cano went hitless in four at-bats to finish the playoffs with a 3-for-40 showing, and Girardi said that the performance was "kind of baffling" for him.

"Because we have seen the type of hitter that Robby Cano is," Girardi said. "For him to struggle as long as he did, and it seems a lot longer than it actually was, we're talking about nine games. And nine games during the course of the season you say ahhh, but to see it, it's pretty difficult for me to understand."

Cano gave credit to the Tigers.

"They did a great job and beat us in four," he said. "You're not going to be great all the time. That's part of the game."

Alex Rodriguez was benched for two of the four games of the ALCS and for the fifth game of the AL Division Series between the Yankees and Baltimore Orioles.

"You never expect that, obviously," said Rodriguez, who expects to be back next season. "Terrible way for the season to end. I think they threw the ball really well, outplayed us in every facet of the game. They were the better team."

"You know, the one thing I don't want to focus on is Alex, in a sense, because it wasn't just him that didn't hit," Giradi said. "You know, if the other guys hit, one guy's struggles aren't going to show as much. But when you have so many guys struggling, and you're Alex Rodriguez, you're going to be the people‑‑ he is going to be the one that people talk about the most.

But there are a lot of guys mightily struggling. Not just a little bit, a lot."

"This team did show a lot of heart and guts to get through a lot of injuries, but it's certainly disappointing and hard to stomach how we played recently," general manager Brian Cashman said. "At the most important time of your year, we feel we let the fans of New York down."