NEW YORK -- For 4 hours, 37 minutes, the Detroit Tigers kept themselves occupied through two rain delays by joking around with each other and hanging out inside the clubhouse.

The rest of the time was spent doing some seriously effective pitching.

Jordan Zimmermann pitched seven strong innings as Detroit outlasted the New York Yankees 2-0 on Wednesday.

"To be honest, I can't believe we got the game in," Zimmermann said. "As bad as the field looked, it soaked the rain up pretty good. It was good to finish the game and get a win."

Zimmermann threw his first pitch after the game was delayed 1:26 from the scheduled start from orders from Major League Baseball. He threw the last of his 92 pitches just before a heavy downpour and thunderstorms caused a second delay of 3:11, which included about an hour to get all the water off the field.

"You just kind of sit around," Detroit manager Brad Ausmus said. "Players entertain themselves with hijinks, card games and the coaches just kind of sit around."

Justin Upton celebrated the 10-year anniversary of his major league debut with an RBI double five pitches into the game against Masahiro Tanaka (8-10).

The Tigers added a run in the fourth inning. James McCann hit a single, and Mikie Mahtook scored on an error on the play by center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury.

Those runs were enough for Zimmermann (7-8), who worked quickly and efficiently but also escaped a few significant jams while holding the Yankees to six hits. He struck out six and did not issue a walk for the third time in four starts.

Zimmermann, mixing in a low 90s fastball with an effective slider, threw first-pitch strikes to 23 of 28 hitters while pitching in the rain at times.

"That's what he does," Mahtook said. "When Zim's at his best, that's how he pitches. He's been doing that a lot lately. He's been keeping us in games, and he's giving us a chance to win."

Heavy rains appeared shortly after Zimmermann finished the seventh inning by narrowly beating Brett Gardner to first base on a ground ball.

Zimmermann improved to 3-0 against the Yankees and turned in his first scoreless outing since April 20, 2016, when he began his tenure with Detroit by pitching 19 1/3 scoreless innings in his first three starts.

"I felt good," Zimmermann said. "I was able to throw strikes and command the ball a lot. So it's probably right up there. I'm feeling good right now, so hopefully it continues."

Before finishing the seventh quickly, Zimmermann escaped trouble in the second, third, fourth and sixth.

The Yankees had second and third with two outs in the second after Chase Headley doubled, but Zimmermann retired Todd Frazier on a fly ball.

An inning later, the Yankees had first and third, but Zimmermann struck out Aaron Judge swinging on a breaking ball out of the strike zone and retired Gary Sanchez with a grounder on the next pitch.

In the fourth, Didi Gregorius led off with a single, but Matt Holliday, Headley and Frazier struck out looking.

Two innings later, Judge and Sanchez opened with a single and double, putting runners at second and third. Zimmermann preserved the shutout by retiring Gregorius and Holliday before fanning Headley with a curveball.

Once play resumed, Bruce Rondon fanned two in a scoreless eighth and Shane Greene needed only eight pitches to notch his second save.

"The pitching was really outstanding," Ausmus said after Detroit recorded its first shutout in New York since Aug. 10, 1991.

The Yankees were shut out for the second time this season, wasting a decent outing from Tanaka. Five days after getting a career-high 14 strikeouts against Tampa Bay, he allowed two runs (one earned) and six hits in six innings.

"Again another good performance out of him," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

New York went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, struck out 10 times and lost consecutive games for the first time in two weeks.

"We're not doing the job when we're getting some opportunities to score, and that's the difference in the game," Girardi said.

NOTES: Detroit SS Jose Iglesias (sprained right wrist) did not start for the second straight game but entered as a defensive replacement in the ninth inning. He initially injured the wrist while striking out in the sixth inning Monday against RHP Tommy Kahnle. ... RHP Sonny Gray said he threw an extra bullpen session to prepare himself for his Yankees debut Thursday in Cleveland. ... New York LF Brett Gardner extended his hitting streak to a career-high 14 games. ... Detroit C James McCann extended his hitting streak to 12 games. ... New York CF Aaron Hicks (strained right oblique) went 1-for-3 in his first rehab game for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.