Power outage delays ALCS Game 3 in Detroit

DETROIT -- Game 3 of the American League Championship Series was delayed at Comerica Park for 17 minutes because of a power outage to start the bottom of the second inning on Tuesday afternoon.

A preliminary investigation by DTE Energy, a Detroit-based diversified energy company, discovered that a cable failure near the stadium was at fault.

"We've identified the cause of the disturbance, and we worked with officials at Comerica Park to resolve the issue quickly," said Steve Kurmas, president and chief operating officer for DTE Electric. "We regret the interruption."

Just as Red Sox starter John Lackey was finishing his warmup pitches, the lights flickered, the scoreboard briefly went black and most of the stadium lights went out, temporarily forcing both teams off the field, even though it was still daytime.

"I wasn't happy about it," Tigers starter Justin Verlander said. "Obviously, I was in a groove. But it had no effect. I just kind of treated it like a long inning."

Once the stadium lights rebooted, play resumed. And though threats of rain loomed in the evening, both teams were able to finish up without further delays, the Red Sox beating the Tigers, 1-0, in three hours and 20 minutes to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, which resumes Wednesday night at Comerica Park at 8 ET on FOX.

The power outage, which began at approximately 4:41 p.m. ET, was akin to one that occurred during the 2013 Super Bowl in New Orleans, lasting more than a half hour early in the second half.

"Power was restored immediately, however the in-stadium lights require approximately 15 minutes to fully reset," Joe Garagiola Jr., Major League Baseball's senior vice president of standards and on-field operations, said in the statement. "Both teams were kept fully informed throughout the length of the delay, and pitcher John Lackey was given as much time as he needed to warm up prior to the restart of the game."