Tagged: Brian Duensing

Yankees Down Twins In 10th On Nunez’s Misplay

GAME 117

YANKEES 8, TWINS 7 (10 INNINGS)

On a night where the team was literally battered, bruised and besieged leave it to a former New York Yankees shortstop to provide the Yankees with the mistake that handed them a hard-fought 10-inning walk-off victory at Yankee Stadium on Monday.

Chase Headley’s hard-hit bases-loaded grounder clanked off Eduardo Nunez’s glove just enough to allow Greg Bird to score the winning run as New York came back from a 7-5 deficit to beat Minnesota on what was Frank Sinatra Night.

And in true Sinatra-like fashion, the Yankees did their way.

Facing Twins closer Glen Perkins, Bird opened the inning with a line-drive double in the gap in right-center. The only reason Bird was in the game is starting first baseman Mark Teixeira was forced to leave the game in the sixth with a bruised right leg.

Brian McCann, who had driven in five runs on the night with a two-out three-run homer and a two-out two-run single earlier, delivered a double off the glove of left-fielder Eddie Rosario, which should have scored Bird easily with the winning run.

However, Bird went back to tag up at second base and was unable to score because Rosario got the ball in quickly.

With Bird at third and McCann on second, the Twins intentionally walked Carlos Beltran, who had tied the game up with one out in the sixth inning with a two-run home run. Twins manager Paul Molitor then replaced right-fielder Torii Hunter with infielder Eduardo Escobar and positioned him to give the Twins five infielders.

Headley then slapped a 1-2 pitch on two hops to Nunez at shortstop. But Nunez  –  who basically punched his ticket out of New York because of chronic fielding issues  –  allowed the ball to carom off his glove.

Nunez inexplicably threw to first base to retire Headley after Bird already had scored the decisive run.

I want to wake up in a city
That doesn’t sleep
And find I’m king of the hill
Top of the heap

The Yankees’ walk-off victory allowed them to extend their lead in the American League East over the idle Toronto Blue Jays to a full game.

But getting from Point A (the game) to Point B (the victory) proved extremely difficult despite the fact that McCann provided rookie right-hander Bryan Mitchell an early 3-0 lead on a night that CC Sabathia was scheduled to pitch but didn’t because Yankees manager Joe Girardi wanted to give all his starters an extra day of rest.

So the Yankees opened the first with Jacoby Ellsbury reaching on a single and Alex Rodriguez drew a one-out walk. One out later, McCann launched a 0-2 fastball off right-hander Kyle Gibson deep into the right-field bleachers for his 21st home run of the season.

The Twins got one of the runs back in the second inning when Rosario and Kurt Suzuki hit a pair of two-out singles and Nunez capped it by lining a wicked line drive that struck Mitchell in the face and the ball caromed into center-field to score Rosario.

Mitchell immediately fell to the ground with blood pouring profusely from his nose. Mitchell was able to walk off the mound with a towel covering his face with what later was diagnosed as a nasal fracture.

Girardi called upon rookie right-hander Caleb Cotham to replace Mitchell and Cotham was able to strike out Aaron Hicks to end the inning with Suzuki on third and Nunez on second after a stolen base.

But the Twins took advantage of the inexperienced Cotham in the third inning. Brian Dozier led off with a single and, one out later, Miguel Sano stroked his eighth home run of the season into the left-field bleachers.

Forced to leave Cotham in because the Yankees were a man short in the bullpen with Mitchell starting, Trevor Plouffe exploited it by singling to right and Hunter reached on a fielder’s choice in which shortstop Didi Gregorius mishandled his ground ball for an error and it allowed Plouffe to reach third.

Rosario followed with an RBI single to center and the Twins took a 4-3 lead.

But the Yankees reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the frame after Ellsbury singled, Brett Gardner walked and Rodriguez hit a hard-hit grounder that caromed past Plouffe into left-field for an error. Ellsbury, however, was thrown out at home plate on a throw from Rosario. It was his 11th outfield assist of the season.

Because the Twins were running the bases every chance they got in the game, Rodriguez decided to steal a base on a befuddled Gibson. That proved to be a very smart move.

One out later, McCann dumped a bloop single to right that allowed both Gardner and Rodriguez to score. The Yankees reclaimed the lead 5-4.

But it did not last for even one hitter in the fourth. The Twins again exploited Cotham when Hicks led off with his eighth home run of the season into the Yankees bullpen in right-field.

Two batters later Cotham left in favor of left-hander Chasen Shreve after being charged with four runs on six hits in just two innings.

But the normally reliable Shreve was ambushed in the fifth inning when Plouffe led off by cracking a 1-2 pitch that also landed in the Yankees bullpen for his 18th home run of the season.

Plouffe extended the Twins’ lead to 7-5 with two out in the sixth. After Joe Mauer and Sano reached on two-out singles off left-hander Justin Wilson, Plouffe followed with an RBI single to left.

But the seesaw game swung back again in the sixth inning after Teixeira battled Gibson to draw an 12-pitch walk. Bird pinch-ran for Teixeira after the veteran first baseman fouled a pitch off his right leg earlier in the at-bat.

Molitor replaced Gibson with left-hander Brian Duensing. After Duensing struck out McCann, Beltran tied it 7-7 with his 13th home run of the season and his third homer in his past four games.

Gibson, who entered the contest with an ERA over 10.00 in four career starts against the Yankees, was charged with six runs on four hits and three walks and struck out two in five-plus innings.

The game remained tied despite the fact the Yankees loaded the bases with one out against first left-hander Ryan O’Rourke and then right-hander Casey Fien. The Yankees had McCann and Beltran up with the bases loaded but McCann was retired by Fien on a weak infield popup and Beltran struck out swinging.

But the Yankees bullpen trio of right-hander Adam Warren (seventh), right-hander Dellin Betances (seventh, eighth and ninth) and left-hander Andrew Miller (10th) held the Twins to one hit and one walk and struck out five in the final four innings to set up the walk-off victory in the 10th.

Miller (1-2) was credited with his first victory of the season in relief. Perkins (1-4) took the loss.

The Yankees improved their season record to 65-52. The Twins dropped to 59-59.

Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew
But through it all, when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out
I faced it all and I stood tall
And did it my way

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • McCann had himself a MVP-like night after going 3-for-5 with a single, double, home run, a run scored and five RBIs. The five RBIs tied a career high, which he has done six times. You think that was good? Well, how about his work behind the plate? McCann threw out three Twins base-runners to become the first Yankees catcher to do that since Jose Molina did it 2011 against the Boston Red Sox. McCann threw out Dozier in the fourth, Hunter in the fifth and Nunez in the seventh.
  • Beltran’s hot streak in August continued in a big way on Monday. He was only 1-for-4 but that one was a game-tying home run. This season eight of Beltran’s 13 home runs have either tied or given the Yankees a lead. Beltran is batting .317 with five homers and nine RBIs halfway through the month. It appears Beltran is tired of being platooned with Chris Young and he now has become a must-start every day.
  • Let’s give a shout out to Brian Cashman for having the foresight to release “Eduardo Scissorhands” (Nunez) on April Fool’s Day of 2014. That seems appropriate since Nunez committed 42 errors in 270 games with the Yankees between 2010 and 2013.  Now he is the Twins’ problem and his shaky fielding handed the Yankees a victory. “It’s all my fault,” Nunez told reporters. “The pitcher did his job. I have to do my job and make the play. It’s all on my back. This game. I think I lost the game.” Well said, Scissorhands!

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • I have no idea what the Yankees see in Cotham, 27. He looked tentative on the mound and he seemed absolutely afraid to throw a pitch in the strike zone. It might get hitters to swing out of the zone at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre but not in Major League Baseball. There is a strong possibility that Cotham will be shipped back to Scranton now that he is sporting a 7.36 ERA in just two games.
  • Rodriguez’s struggles continue and they are getting worse. He was 0-for-4 with a walk, which means he is now in a 3-for-37 (.081) skid since Aug. 6. His season average has sunk 19 points from .281 to .262 and he struck out 10 times in those 37 at-bats. He was rested on Saturday so that is not an excuse. Perhaps he needs to be lowered in the order. That is what got him going early in the season.

BOMBER BANTER

X-rays of Mitchell indicated a small nasal fracture but the team is also going to monitor the 24-year-old right-hander for concussion symptoms. He is expected to be placed on the 15-day disabled list prior to Tuesday’s game.  . . .  Precautionary X-rays taken on Teixeira’s right leg just above his knee were negative. Teixeira, 35, was unable to put any pressure on the leg after the game and he is listed as day-to-day.  . . .  As part of a salute to the late Frank Sinatra on Monday, his son Frank Jr. sang the national anthem before the game and the first 18,000 fans (21 and over) were given free Frank Sinatra music download cards.

ON DECK

A battered and tired Yankee team will resume its three-game home series with Twins on Tuesday.

Sabathia (4-9, 5.23) will pitch for the Yankees with that extra day of rest. Despite giving up two runs on nine hits and two walks in six innings against the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday, the Yankees gave him just one run of support and he took the loss.

Veteran right-hander Mike Pelfrey (6-7, 3.70 ERA) will pitch for the Twins. He held Texas Rangers to one run on four hits and one walk with four strikeouts in seven innings of a 11-1 victory on Wednesday.

Game-time will be 7:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast by the YES Network.

 

Yankees Rally Past Twins On A-Rod’s 3 Home Runs

GAME 96

YANKEES 8, TWINS 5

There are certain baseball sluggers than fans flock to see do magical things at the plate whether they loved them or hated them. Players like Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson and, yes, even Alex Rodriguez. The 40-year-old designated hitter had one of those historic nights you would have wanted to see at Target Field in Minneapolis on Saturday.

With the Yankees trailing 5-0, Rodriguez proceeded to hit three long blasts  –  his final home run tying the game in the top of the ninth  –  and John Ryan Murphy later added a tie-breaking three-run shot in the same inning off All-Star closer Glen Perkins as New York pulled victory out of the jaws of defeat on a stunned Minnesota team.

Rodriguez’s three home runs in a game marked the fifth time in his career he has done it and  –  two days shy of his 40th birthday  –  he also became the fifth oldest player in Major-League history to hit three home runs in a game behind Stan Musial (41, 229 days), Jason Giambi (40, 131 days), Jackson (40, 125 days) and Ruth (40, 108 days).

His first home run was a solo shot into the left-field bleachers off left-hander Tommy Milone with two out in the fourth inning. That was the only hit the Yankees could muster off Milone in the first six innings.

After losing to the Twins 10-1 on Friday, the Yankees were looking at a possible potential sweep of the series by the Twins on Sunday after managing just two runs in the first 15 innings of the series.

But the Yankees turned the game (and possibly the series) around after the Twins had loaded the bases with out the benefit of a hit of a hit off left-hander CC Sabathia after two were out in the sixth inning. Sabathia walked Kurt Suzuki, hit Danny Santana with a pitch and then walked Brian Dozier.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi replaced Sabathia with right-hander Adam Warren, who managed to work into a 3-2 count on Aaron Hicks. His 3-2 pitch was called a strike by home-plate umpire Jeff Nelson.

Twins rookie manager Paul Molitor argued the call so vehemently that Nelson ejected him from the game.

The Yankees then opened the seventh with a leadoff single by Chris Young and Rodriguez followed by depositing Milone’s 1-1 pitch into the center-field bleachers for a two-run homer.

Mark Teixeira then doubled and left-hander Brian Duensing was summoned to replace Milone. Carlos Beltran launched a deep line drive to center that advanced Teixeira to third and Chase Headley scored Teixeira on a sacrifice fly.

Trailing 5-4 in the ninth, Rodriguez launched Perkins’ first offering into the center-field bleachers for his third home run of the night and 23rd of the season to tie the game.

Perkins (0-2) closed out the American League’s 6-3 victory in the 2015 All-Star Game and had blown only one save this season prior to Saturday. He carried a 1.37 ERA and a American-League-leading 29 saves into the contest.

With one out and Carlos Beltran at first after an out call at first base by umpire Tom Woodring was overturned to negate a double play, Headley laced a single to center to advance Beltran to third. Murphy, who entered the game with one career homer and none in 81 at-bats this season, sent a long drive into the center-field bleachers for a three-run home run to complete the improbable eight-run comeback.

Warren (6-5) pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief to earn the victory. Left-hander Andrew Miller pitched a perfect ninth inning to notch his 23rd save in 23 chances this season.

The Twins took an early 2-0 lead on Sabathia and the Yankees when the light-hitting Hicks followed a leadoff single by Dozier with only his fourth home run of the season.

Hicks created more trouble in the third with a leadoff bloop single to center. One out later, rookie slugger Miguel Sano rolled a ball against the shift to the right side for an infield single. Torii Hunter then cranked an opposite-field homer to right to give the Twins their seemingly insurmountable 5-0 margin.

The victory improved the Yankees’ season mark to 54-42 and they are 5 1/2 games ahead of the second-place Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East. The Twins dropped to 52-45.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • These are the games that stoke legends and Rodriguez’s magical night drew the Yankees back from the depths of despair. His numbers defy explanation after missing most of the past two seasons. He is batting .277 with 23 homers and 58 RBIs. If anyone saw this coming you are a better man than me. He and Mark Teixeira have combined to hit 47 homers and drive in 123 runs with 66 games left in the season.
  • The Yankees were more than content to go to the bottom of the ninth with a tie score but Murphy’s home run provided a three-run margin. Give Murphy, 24, credit for putting up a tough battle with a good closer. Backup catchers are paid to play good defense and give the starter a rest. If they provide anything offensively it is a bonus and Murphy is now hitting .271 with a homer and eight RBIs in his 23 starts.
  • Sabathia may have yielded five runs on six hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings. But give him credit for this: From the moment Hunter cranked his 16th homer of the season, Sabathia, Warren and Miller held the Twins to just one hit (a two-out single by Suzuki in the eighth) the rest of the game. If the pitching did not keep the Twins off the board the Yankees likely would not have won.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • The Yankees pretty much were sleepwalking through this series until the seventh inning on Saturday. They had just one hit in the first six innings and ended the night with 10. In fact, they outhit the Twins 10 to 7. Phil Hughes shut them out for seven innings on Friday and Milone held them to one run in six until he finally unraveled in the seventh. That is embarrassing.
  • Michael Pineda and Sabathia combined to yield 10 runs on 14 hits and three walks in 10 2/3 innings the past two nights. That is an 8.44 ERA. Starting pitching had been a strong suit of the Yankees 9-2 run up until Friday. The starters have to keep the Yankees in the game in order for them to unleash their strong bullpen.

BOMBER BANTER

Girardi told reporters on Saturday that the Yankees will not pitch Masahiro Tanaka on Tuesday against the Texas Rangers in order to give the 26-year-old right-hander an extra day of rest. The Yankees likely will start either Warren or left-hander Chris Capuano and give each pitcher about 50 pitches. Girardi said top pitching prospect Luis Severino and right-hander Bryan Mitchell, who are both pitching at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, are not viable options. The right-handed Severino pitched on Friday and Mitchell pitched on Saturday. Tanaka will start against the Rangers on Wednesday because the team is managing his innings in the wake of his partially torn elbow ligament that sidelined him for two months last season.  . . .  The Yankees signed right-hander Nick Goody to a Major-League contract and called him up from Scranton to add a fresh arm to the bullpen. In order to get Goody on the 25-man roster right-hander Branden Pinder was sent back to Scranton and to get him on the 40-man roster the team designated for assignment infielder Gregorio Petit. Goody, 24, has a 1.35 ERA in five appearances at Scranton after being promoted from Double-A Trenton. Pinder, 26, had a 2.92 ERA in 11 appearances with the Yankees this season. Petit, 30, hit .167 with no homers and five RBIs in 42 at-bats with the Yankees.

ON DECK

The Yankees will now look to build upon their miracle comeback victory to win the three-game series with the Twins on Sunday.

Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (9-2, 4.43 ERA) will start the finale. Eovaldi, 25, gave up two runs on four hits and three walks with four strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings in a game the Yankees eventually won against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday. He has never faced the Twins.

Eovaldi will be opposed by right-hander Kyle Gibson (8-7, 3.19 ERA). Gibson, 27, was shelled for six runs on 10 hits and one walk with six strikeouts in five-plus innings against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday.

Game-time will be 2:10 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast by the YES Network.

 

McCann’s RBI Double Hands Tanaka 8th Victory

GAME 54

YANKEES 3, TWINS 1

When a hitter has a chance to deliver a big hit in a key situation and he fails, most times they can’t wait for a shot at redemption. That is exactly how Brian McCann felt as he stepped to the plate in the eighth inning on Saturday.

This time he delivered.

McCann slapped a double down the right-field line with one out to score Jacoby Ellsbury from third to break a 1-1 tie as rookie Masahiro Tanaka and New York went on to defeat Minnesota in front of a paid crowd of 44,346 on a rainy afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

McCann came up in the first inning with the bases loaded and one out and right-hander Kevin Correia induced him to hit into an inning-ending double play. So the veteran All-Star catcher was more than anxious to give Tanaka and the Yankees a lead.

Tanaka (8-1) gave up an unearned run on just four hits and two walks while he struck out nine over eight innings to earn the victory. Tanaka entered the game leading the American League in ERA and he lowered that league-leading mark on Saturday from 2.29 to 2.06.

David Robertson pitched around an error, one of three the Yankees committed in the game, and he struck out the side in the ninth to earn his 12th save in 13 chances this season.

With one out in the eighth, Ellsbury stroked a single to center off left-hander Brian Duensing (1-2) to extend his hitting streak to five games. He then stole second and took third when catcher Josmil Pinto’s throw to second rolled into center.

Brian Roberts drew a walk and McCann followed by slashing 0-1 pitch into the right-field corner to score Ellsbury and advance Roberts to third. Alfonso Soriano was walked to load the bases and the skies, which had been spouting rain throughout most of the day, opened up into a deluge and the game was delayed by rain for 34 minutes.

After the delay, right-hander Jared Burton replaced Duensing on the mound and he got on a infield popup Yangervis Solarte, who had accounted for the Yankees’ only run of the game prior to the eighth with his sixth home run of the season off Correia in the fourth inning.

Kelly Johnson then provided the Yankees an insurance run when he was able to leg out a ground ball to second baseman Brian Dozier for an RBI single that scored Roberts.

Errors, both physical and mental, plagued the Yankees most of the day and Johnson’s error in the first inning set the tone for it.

Dozier hit the first pitch from Tanaka to Johnson at third but the ball ticked off his glove for an error. Dozier then advanced to second on a one of two wild pitches Tanaka uncorked on the day.

Eduardo Escobar advanced Dozier to third with a groundout and, one out later, Josh Willingham plated him with an opposite-field single to right.

Though Solarte tied it in the fourth, the Yankees were unable to get any offense going against Correia, who entered the game with a 2-5 record and an ERA of 6.34, the worst ERA among all major-league starters this season.

The Yankees squandered a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the first on McCann’s double play. Brendan Ryan also hit into an inning-ending double play in the second with two on and one out.

In the sixth, McCann was on second with two out when Solarte slapped a lined single into right. Though third-base coach Rob Thomson smartly held McCann at third, Solarte attempted to take second on right-field Oswaldo Arcia’s throw to the plate. But Pinto cut down Solarte with a perfect throw to Escobar at second base.

As a result, Correia yielded just the one run despite being touched for nine hits and one walk with three strikeouts in six innings.

In Friday’s loss to the Twins, the Yankees managed just one run on seven hits and four walks in seven innings against right-hander Ricky Nolasco, who entered the game with an ERA of 6.12, the second-worst ERA in the American League to his teammate Correia.

The victory improves the Yankees’ season ledger to 29-25. They are in second place in the American League East 2 1/2 games behind the first-place Toronto Blue Jays. The Twins dropped to 25-28.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • With the Yankees struggling to score runs, Tanaka needed to pitch a near-flawless game and he did. The Yankees are 9-2 in his starts and he now has struck out 88 batters in 78 2/3 innings. The Twins managed just four singles. Two of them were infield singles and none of the four singles were hit hard. Without McCann’s hit Tanaka was headed for a very frustrating no decision. He deserved to win this game.
  • McCann may be starting to get out of the hitting doldrums. He was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and with what proved to be the game-winning hit. He now has at least one hit in his past four games and he is 6-for-15 (.400) in that span. That has raised his season average to .232, which is as high as it has been since April 29.
  • Solarte had fallen into a 7-for-47 (.149) tailspin from May 15 through May 28. Now Solarte is getting hot again. After not starting in the series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday, Solarte was 3-for-4 on Saturday and is 5-for-8 (.625) in the two games against the Twins. After his average dipped to .283 he is now back to.299.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • After a solid April in which he hit .247 with four homers and 10 RBIs, Soriano has been virtually useless in May. Soriano was 0-for-3 with a strikeout on Saturday and he is now 4-for-30 (.133) in his past 12 games dating back to May 18. Soriano also dropped a routine fly ball off the bat of Dozier in the third inning for an error. Soriano leads the team in strikeouts with 52 in 179 at-bats.
  • Bad base-running continues to plague the Yankees in this series against the Twins. Solarte’s base-running blunder brings the Yankees to four runners cut down on the basepaths in the past two games. On Friday, Derek Jeter was caught in a rundown after rounding first base too far. Roberts later in the game was thrown out at the plate by Arcia and he also was caught stealing after taking too big a lead at first. This just has to stop. Period!
  • Johnson, Soriano and Solarte were also charged with errors in the game. Three errors in a close game can be very costly. Asking Tanaka to pitch around errors is asking an awful lot, even for a pitcher of Tanaka’s ability. Mental and physical errors seem to be spreading through the team like a virus. The team needs to stop pressing in the field, at the plate and on the bases.

BOMBER BANTER

Mark Texeira left the game in the sixth inning with a recurrence of the soreness in his surgically repaired right wrist. The Gold-Glove first baseman was administered a cortisone injection and he will miss at least the next two games, the Yankees told reporters after the game. Teixeira, 33, had missed three games and rested on the off day Thursday before returning to the lineup on Friday. He was 0-for-1 with a strikeout and three walks in that game. He struck out with the bases loaded in the first inning and grounded out in the third on Saturday before leaving in the sixth in favor of Roberts, who was 0-for-1 with a strikeout and a walk.  . . .  Right-hander Michael Pineda’s timetable to return to the roster from the disabled list has hit a setback. Pineda, 24, is feeling more discomfort in a muscle behind his right shoulder and an outing for him in an intrasquad game scheduled for Sunday in Tampa, FL, has been postponed. Pineda felt pain playing catch on Friday and flew to New York to have an MRI on Saturday that revealed inflammation of the teres-major muscle behind his right shoulder. Manager Joe Girardi said Pineda will be shut down and it is not clear when he will be able to resume throwing.

ON DECK

The Yankees will have a chance to win the three-game series against the Twins with a victory on Sunday.

Rookie right-hander Chase Whitley (0-0, 2.57 ERA) will look for his first major-league victory in his fourth start. Whitley held the Cardinals to no runs in the first five innings before being charged with three runs in the sixth on Monday. Whitley yielded eight hits and no walks with two strikeouts. The Yankees ended up winning the game and they are now 3-0 in games Whitley has started.

The Twins will start former Yankee right-hander Phil Hughes (5-1, 3.23 ERA). Hughes did not receive a decision either in his last start against the Texas Rangers on Tuesday. Hughes left after surrendering three runs on eight hits with no walks and three strikeouts in seven innings. Hughes was 56-50 in seven seasons with the Yankees. He was 4-14 with a 5.19 ERA in 29 starts for the Yankees in 2014.

Game-time will be 1:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast by the YES Network.

 

Yanks’ Holiday Fireworks Lead To Sweep Of Twins

GAME 85

YANKEES 9, TWINS 5

When it comes to Minneapolis and Target Field the Yankees would just as soon remain there playing the Twins forever. As far as the Twins’ players are concerned they probably would have volunteered to drive the Yankees to the airport just to make sure they left.

The Yankees’ offense exploded like a bottle rocket on this Fourth of July and David Phelps pitched a sparkling 6 1/3 innings as New York completed a humiliating four-game sweep of Minnesota on Thursday in front of a sellout holiday crowd of 38,260.

Ichiro Suzuki and Travis Hafner each pounded out three hits and Vernon Wells drove in three runs as the Yankees broke out the heavy lumber against rookie right-hander Kyle Gibson, who was making only his second major-league start.

The Yankees arrived in Minneapolis on the heels of a five-game losing streak and they left having outscored the Twins 29-14 in the four-game series.

Suzuki finished the day a homer shy of hitting for the cycle as the Yankees cruised to a commanding 9-1 lead by the top of the sixth inning.

Phelps (6-5), coming off giving up a career-worst nine runs in 2 1/3 innings against the Baltimore Orioles in his last start on June 30, turned the tables on the Twins until he ran out gas in the seventh inning. He entered the seventh having given up only a one-out solo home run to Justin Morneau in the fourth inning.

Meanwhile, the Yankees took little time jumping on Gibson (1-1), the Twins’ No. 1 draft pick in 2009.

Suzuki led off the game with a double down the right-field line and Zoilo Almonte advanced him to third on a lined single to right. Robinson Cano, who entered the day 7-for-11 with three home runs and eight RBIs in the series, drove a sacrifice fly to the warning track in left-field to score Suzuki.

Hafner extended the inning by blooping an opposite-field double to left and Wells, making a rare start, followed with a two-run single that scored Almonte and Hafner.

The Yankees added a pair of runs in the third inning after Gibson opened the frame by hitting Hafner with a pitch and then uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Hafner to rumble into second. Wells then looped a fly ball that eluded left-fielder Oswaldo Arcia for an RBI double.

Newly acquired shortstop Luis Cruz then delivered his first hit as a Yankee, an RBI single to left that scored Wells.

The Yankees put the game away against Gibson and left-hander Brian Duensing in the sixth with an RBI single by Alberto Gonzalez, a two-run triple by Suzuki and an RBI groundout off the bat of Almonte.

Phelps wobbled in the seventh when Chris Parmelee and Aaron Hicks opened the frame with a pair of singles. One out later, Pedro Florimon chased Phelps with an RBI single.

Right-hander Joba Chamberlain replaced Phelps and he was greeted with an RBI single from Brian Dozier. Boone Logan came in to face Joe Mauer and surrendered a sacrifice fly to the Twins catcher.

The Twins then jumped on Logan in the eighth when Morneau blasted his second home run of the game and his sixth of the season.

Trevor Plouffe then singled and Parmelee drew a walk before manager Joe Girardi yanked Logan in favor of right-hander Shawn Kelley, who retired the next three hitters  –  two of them via strikeouts  –  to end the threat.

David Robertson pitched a perfect ninth as the Yankees defeated the Twins for the seventh time in their past eight meetings and they now have won nine of their past 11 games at Target Field.

The victory improved the Yankees’ season ledger to 46-39 and they remain six games behind the first-place Boston Red Sox in third place in the American League East. The Twins, who have now lost five straight games, fell to 36-46.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Suzuki, who started in center-field and hit leadoff in place of Brett Gardner, took advantage of it by going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Suzuki was hitting an anemic .238 on May 15. Since then he is 45-for-152 (.296). In addition, Suzuki was 7-for-15 (.457) in the four-game series against the Twins. He has raised his season average to .280.
  • Hafner is finally showing signs of coming around with the bat  –  finally. He was 3-for-4 with two doubles and three runs scored. The key for Hafner is that he has stopped trying to pull everything and he collected two opposite-field doubles and a lined single to center on Thursday. Hafner is 9-for-19 (.316) in his past five starts and has raised his season average back to .229.
  • Phelps yielded four runs on eight hits, he did not walk anyone and he fanned five in 6 1/3 innings. However, he pitched better than the final line indicates. Phelps simply ran out of steam having thrown 91 pitches over the first six innings. In addition, Chamberlain and Logan did not help matters by allowing two more inherited runners to score in the seventh inning.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

I was not happy with Chamberlain or Logan for the way they almost let the Twins back into the game. But winning four straight is the important thing. Consider this also: The Yankees scored nine runs and rapped out 13 hits and Cano ended the day 0-for-4 with a strikeout despite driving in his ninth run of the series on a sac fly in the first.

BOMBER BANTER

You got to laugh just to keep yourself from crying about the Yankees and their injuries this season. The latest bad news comes about catcher Francisco Cervelli. The veteran backstop will have to be shut down for at least two weeks and his expected return has been moved back to August due to a stress reaction in his right elbow. Cervelli had been catching simulated games and taking batting practice at the Yankees’ complex in Tampa, FL, when he felt pain in the elbow. An MRI on Wednesday revealed the stress reaction. Cervelli has played in just 17 games this season, batting .269 with three homers and eight RBIs.  . . .  Shortstop Eduardo Nunez has moved up to Double-A Trenton as part of his minor-league rehab assignment and he could be activated before the All-Star break. Nunez has been on the disabled list since May 5 with a strained right oblique. Nunez has played in just 27 games this season, hitting .200 with no homers and four RBIs.  . . .  Derek Jeter told reporters on Thursday that he feels the he is close to being cleared to begin a minor-league rehab assignment. Jeter has not played this season due to complications from surgery on his left ankle.

ON DECK

The Yankees return home hoping to deal a little payback to Baltimore in a three-game weekend series that begins on Friday.

Right-hander Ivan Nova (2-2, 4.63 ERA) will start in place of injured right-hander Hiroki Kuroda. Nunez last pitched in relief against the Orioles in Baltimore, giving up two runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings. Nova is 3-2 with a 5.43 ERA lifetime against the O’s.

Nova will be opposed by right-hander Miguel Gonzalez (6-3, 3.77 ERA). Gonzalez was charged with three runs on nine hits in 6 2/3 innings at home against the Cleveland Indians on June 29. He is 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA against the Yankees.

Game-time will be 7:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by the MLB Network and locally by the YES Network.

 

Yanks End 5-Game Skid By Beating Hapless Twins

GAME 82

YANKEES 10, TWINS 4

Just when things look the darkest for the Yankees there is a silver lining. When they are mired in a batting slump, when they can’t seem to do anything right and when they have lost five in a row they still have one saving grace left to them. It is when they play the Minnesota Twins.

Trailing 4-3 heading into the eighth inning the Yankees rallied to score seven runs over the final two innings as once again hapless Minnesota snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory against New York in front of 29.619 disbelieving fans at Target Field in Minneapolis.

After Chris Parmelee led off the sixth inning with a home run off left-hander Andy Pettitte to break a 3-3 tie, the Twins handed the ball to right-hander Jared Burton (1-6) in the eighth inning, hoping he could preserve that lead. But things went awry quickly.

Robinson Cano, who was responsible for all three Yankee runs with a solo home run in the first inning and a two-run blast in the third, led off the frame with a lined double into the gap in right-center.

Manager Joe Girardi then pinch-hit for Vernon Wells with Ichiro Suzuki and the veteran outfielder dropped down a bunt single that advanced Cano to third. Burton then uncorked a wild pickoff attempt to first that rolled down the right-field line that allowed Cano to score the tying run and Suzuki to slide in safely into third.

One out later, rookie Zoilo Almonte slapped an opposite-field single between a drawn-in infield into left-field to give the Yankees a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the evening.

The Yankees added a run after left-hander Brian Duensing walked Lyle Overbay, uncorked a wild pitch to advance Almonte and Overbay a base and Almonte scored on a RBI groundout off the bat of Chris Stewart.

The Yankees added four runs in the ninth inning off Duensing and right-hander Josh Roenicke to put the game well out of reach.

Joba Chamberlain (1-0) pitched a scoreless seventh inning to pick up his first victory of the season. David Robertson and Mariano Rivera each also tossed shutout frames to close out the victory for the Yankees.

Despite not pitching well, Pettitte did strike out Justin Morneau with one out and one on in the fifth inning to become the all-time leader in Yankees’ history in strikeouts. It was Pettitte’s 1,958th career strikeout, which moved him past Hall-of-Fame left-hander Whitey Ford.

Pettitte suffered through a 42-pitch first inning in which he was touched for three runs on three hits and two walks while he also committed a throwing error. Ryan Doumit stroked a two-run single to key the inning for the Twins.

But Pettitte recovered to shut down the Twins on just two hits over the next four innings until Parmelee’s solo homer in the sixth chased him from the game. Pettitte gave up four runs on six hits and four walks while he struck out two batters in five-plus innings.

His opponent, left-hander Scott Diamond, shut out eight of the Yankees’ hitters on just five hits and one walk in 6 2/3 innings. However, Cano blasted a solo home run off Diamond that traveled more than 400-feet and landed in the batter’s eye in center-field in the first inning.

Cano later followed a fielding error by third baseman Jamey Carroll that allowed Jayson Nix to reach with one out in the third with an opposite-field blast to left that landed just into the left-field bleachers that tied the game at 3-3.

The home runs were the 18th and 19th of the season for Cano and his homer in the third inning gave him three home runs in his past four at-bats.

The victory improved the Yankees’ season record to 43-39 and left them six games behind the first-place Boston Red Sox in fourth place in the American League East. The Twins fell to 36-43.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • In Cano’s last four games he is 10-for-17 (.588) with three homers and five RBIs. Cano has raised his season average from .276 to .293 and he leads the team in both home runs (19) and RBIs (51). His resurgence at the plate also comes at a time when he is about to be chosen by the fans as the starting second baseman for the American League in the 2013 All-Star Game.
  • Almonte is winning over Yankee fans in a hurry and his 3-for-5 night with a stolen base, a run scored and two RBIs did not let those fans down a bit. Almonte, 24, is now batting .342 with a home run and seven RBIs. The youngster said he wants to continue to contribute and not be sent back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. By the looks of things he is not going back anytime soon.
  • Wells started in right-field for Suzuki and was 2-for-3 with two lined singles that Wells got off Diamond’s first offerings to him in both the first and third innings. While this does not prove the veteran outfielder with slumping bat is out of it, it could be that he is showing signs he might be getting his stroke back. Of course, with Almonte entrenched in left-field for now, Wells is just a part-time outfielder and designated hitter for the near future.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Pettitte is showing an alarming habit of coughing up leads the team gives him and he also is failing to win largely because he is succumbing to one bad inning in his most recent starts. Pettitte has not won a game since June 8 and in his past four starts he is 0-3 with a 5.84 ERA. In those starts he has been hammered for 16 runs on 32 hits and eight walks in 24 2/3 innings. This is not the Pettitte the Yankees have seen in a long, long time. They have to be concerned.
  • On a night in which the Yankees scored 10 runs on 14 hits, third baseman David Adams was 0-for-5 with a strikeout and only one ball reached the outfield. Adams is 2-for-24 in his past eight games and his batting average has plummeted to an anemic .178. With Kevin Youkilis likely lost for the season and Alex Rodriguez still on the disabled list, third base has become the Achilles’ heel for the team. It is just getting worse by the day.

BOMBER BANTER

Rodriguez on Monday was cleared to begin a rehab assignment with Class-A Charleston (SC) in the South Atlantic League on Tuesday. Rodriguez, who is rehabbing from surgery on his left hip in January, is expected to play no less than three innings at third base. The assignment is scheduled to run for 20 days, which means Rodriguez, 37, could rejoin the Yankees no later than July 22 for the start of a four-game road series in Arlington, TX, against the Texas Rangers.

ON DECK

The Yankees will continue their four-game series against the team they love to beat in the Twins on Tuesday.

Right-hander Phil Hughes (3-7, 4.82 ERA) will get the start for the Yankees. Hughes is coming off a game in which  –  with his starting role on the line  –  Hughes surrendered just two runs on five hits in eight innings against the Rangers. However, he lost the game because the Yankees managed just two hits and no runs against Derek Holland. Hughes is 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA in his career against the Twins.

The Twins will counter with right-hander Samuel Deduno (4-2, 3.32 ERA). Deduno gave up just one run on five hits and a walk while he fanned three in seven innings against the Kansas City Royals in his last start. Deduno has no record and 0.00 ERA in one outing against the Yankees.

Game-time will be 8:10 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast by the YES Network.

 

6-Run Third Allows CC, Yanks To Cruise By Twins

GAME 155

YANKEES 8, TWINS 2

It is bad enough that the Minnesota Twins have struggled to beat the Yankees during Ron Gardenhire’s reign as manager. But when you add in the fact they have been unable to beat CC Sabathia while he has sported a Yankee uniform then you can just imagine how things went for the Twins on Wednesday.

The Yankees sent 11 men to the plate as they erupted for six runs in the third inning and Sabathia tossed eight dominant innings to collect his 14th victory as New York clinched both the season series and three-game road series against Minnesota in front of 33,251 at Target Field.

Sabathia (14-6) gave up two runs on six hits and a walk while he struck 10 to run his record against the Twins since he joined the Yankees in 2009, including playoff games, to 10-0 with a 1.96 ERA . The victory also was Sabathia’s first victory since Aug. 24 and broke a personal three-game losing streak.

The Yankees also maintained their 1 1/2-game lead over the second-place Baltimore Orioles in the American League East with only seven games left to play.

The Twins led the Yankees 1-0 on a one-out single by Matt Carson that scored Ryan Doumit from second in the second inning.

That lead was short-lived, however, when Chris Dickerson slapped a one-out single up the middle off Twins reliever Brian Duensing in the third inning. Ichiro Suzuki added a single to center of his own and Derek Jeter drew a walk to load the bases.

Robinson Cano then smacked a scorching line-drive double over the head of right-fielder Ben Revere in right-field to score Dickerson and Suzuki as Jeter advanced to third.

Nick Swisher blooped a single into right-field to score Jeter and Curtis Granderson followed with a two-run triple off the right-field wall.

Duensing then threw a pitch to Eric Chavez in the dirt that eluded Doumit and Granderson scored easily to give Sabathia and the Yankees a comfortable 6-1 cushion.

The Yankees added a pair of runs in the sixth inning on a leadoff double by Raul Ibanez off reliever Anthony Swarzak and a one-out, two-run home run off the bat of Dickerson for his second home run of the season.

Duensing (4-11) was pressed into service with two out in the second inning because starting pitcher Samuel Deduno was forced to leave the game with severe irritation in his left eye that impaired his vision.

Duensing gave up six runs on five hits and two walks while he struck out one in one inning of work.

The Twins scored a run in the seventh when Jamey Carroll and Alexi Casilla strung together a pair of two-out singles and rookie Pedro Florimon scored Carroll when he hit a ball that caromed off Sabathia’s left shin and rolled into right-field.

But, Sabathia was firmly in control of the game. Among his 10 strikeouts, the last five were called and he also struck out Joe Mauer, who entered the contest the second-leading hitter in the American League at .326, the first three times he faced him on just nine pitches. Mauer finished the game 0-for-4.

The Yankees won their 90th game of the season – versus 65 losses – and its the 11th season in the past 12 years the Yankees have won at least 90 games. They also have won the last six season series against the Twins, whose season record fell to 65-91.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Don’t take my word for how good Sabathia was, let Mauer tell it: “That’s the best I’ve seen him, and I’ve been watching him for a long time.” Sabathia threw 108 pitches – his third highest pitch count of the season – and 89 of them were strikes. That is a 75% strike percentage. Sabathia not only registered 94 mph on his fastball but he had superior command of it through out the contest.
  • Despite the fact that Gardenhire brought in a left-hander to replace the right-handed Deduno, lefty sluggers Cano and Granderson came through with a pair of two-run extra-base hits to give Sabathia all the run support he really needed. Though neither Cano or Granderson are having career years, Granderson has 97 RBIs and Cano has 82.
  • Dickerson got a rare start in left-field and took advantage of it by going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs. Because of the Yankees overload at the outfield position, Dickerson does not figure in the team’s plans with its postseason roster. But it is good to see someone from the September call-ups contribute at a crucial point of the season.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

In a game where Sabathia was in total command and the offense scored eight runs despite the fact Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira were not in the lineup you really can’t find fault with anything in this one. The Yankees’ best defense against losing the A.l. East title is just to keep winning and they have won 12 of their last 16 games.

BOMBER BANTER

Rodriguez was held out of the lineup and did not play on Wednesday due to a sore left foot after he fouled a ball of the foot in the eighth inning of Tuesday’s game. Rodriguez stayed in the game but he said the foot stiffened up overnight. Though no X-rays were ordered, manager Joe Girardi believes Rodriguez will be available to play on Thursday.  . . .  Brett Gardner was used as a ninth inning defensive replacement in left-field, marking his first game action since he suffered a strained right elbow making a diving catch in a game ironically against the Twins on April 17. Both Gardner and veteran reliever David Aardsma were activated off the disabled on Tuesday and the team designated for assignment infielder Steve Pearce and left-handed reliever Justin Thomas to make room for them on the roster.

ON DECK

The Yankees make their final road stop of the season in Toronto to begin a four-game series with the Blue Jays on Thursday.

Right-hander Ivan Nova (12-7, 4.94 ERA) will start the series for the Yankees. Nova could not make it out of the third inning in his last start against the Oakland Athletics on Saturday. But the Yankees won the game 10-9 in the 14th inning. Nova is 3-1 with a 3.45 ERA in his career against the Jays.

Right-hander Brandon Morrow (8-7, 3.28 ERA) will get the start for the Blue Jays. Morrow was tagged for four runs in five innings and he walked a season-high four in his last start against the Tampa Bay Rays. He is 4-2 with a 4.08 ERA lifetime against the Yankees.

Game-time will be 7:07 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast by the YES Network.

 

CC Wins No. 17 As Yankees Power Past Twins

GAME 122

YANKEES 8, TWINS 4

CC Sabathia came to Target Field on Thursday to get his pitches back on target.

After the first two innings it looked as if he hadn’t. But the ace left-hander settled down and he left the game after seven innings with a lead to pick up his 17th victory as New York defeated Minnesota.

Sabathia, who entered the game having given up 12 runs over 14 innings in his last two starts, was handed an early 1-0 lead in the second inning on a Brett Gardner sacrifice fly. However, Sabathia handed it right back to the Twins by giving up two runs in the second.

Up to that point Sabathia had been tagged for four hits and a walk. It could have been even worse if a first-inning home run call in favor of Justin Morneau had not been reversed by the umpiring crew on replay as a foul ball. Joe Mauer was on first and it would have been a two-run home run if the call had stood.

But home-plate umpire Brian O’Nora reviewed the call, determined the ball was foul and sent Mauer back to first. Twins manager Ron Gardnehire immediately argued the reversal and O’Nora ejected him from the game. It is the second straight night the Yankees have been involved in controversial home run reviewed by the umpires.

Sabathia (17-7) settled down to retire the last two batters in the second and then 12 of the next 15 batters he faced before he was touched for two runs in the seventh inning. Sabathia ended up surrendering four runs (three earned) on nine hits and a walk and he fanned nine batters.

The Yankees, meanwhile, were much more effective in roughing up Twins left-hander Brian Duensing (8-12).

They reclaimed the 1-0 lead Sabthia gave up in the second when Curtis Granderson led off the third inning with a triple to left-center. He scored when Mark Teixeira blasted his 33rd home run of the season into the left-field bleachers.

The Yankees then again used the long ball to extend their lead in the fifth. Teixera opened the inning with a double down the left-field line. One out later, Nick Swisher blasted his 15th home run of the season into the left-field seats. Andruw Jones followed that with a titanic solo shot, his eighth of the season, into the second deck in the left-field bleachers to give the Yankees a 6-2 edge.

Duensing gave up six runs on 10 hits and a walk and fanned one over five innings.

Sabathia opened the seventh by giving up a single Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Drew Butera moved Nishioka to third with a single to left. Ben Revere plated Nishioka with a single to right and then Eduardo Nunez botched an infield grounder by Trevor Plouffe to load the bases with no outs.

Sabathia gave up a sac fly to Mauer that scored Butera and drew the Twins to within two runs. However, Morneau flew out to right and Robinson Cano saved Sabathia a run — and possibly the game — by making a diving stop of Jim Thome’s hard-hit grounder. Cano was playing deep but had to dive headlong to stop the ball. He got up and threw out Thome to end the Twins’ threat.

The Yankees tacked on two runs in the ninth off reliever Matt Capps. Capps entered the game with two outs in the inning and walked Jones. Nunez doubled to left-center to advance Jones to third. Francisco Cervelli then hit a 2-2 pitch down the line and off third baseman Danny Valencia’s glove to score Jones and Nunez to pad the Yankees’ lead to four.

With the victory, the Yankees improved their season record to 75-47 and they maintained their half-game lead in the American League East over the Boston Red Sox. The Twins fell to 54-69.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Teixeira reached base four times with a home run, a double and two walks. His home run drew him to within one of teammate Curtis Granderson for second place in the major leagues at 34. Teixeira’s two RBIs on the night give him 91 for the season. Teixeira has not failed to hit 30 home runs and drive in 100 runs in a season since his rookie season in 2003. With nine more RBIs he will have eight straight seasons of hitting those benchmarks.
  • Swisher’s home run was his first since he hit a home run in each part of a day-night doubleheader against the Orioles on July 30. Though Swisher hit a robust .323 in July, He has cooled off considerably in August, hitting .263 with one home run and five RBIs.
  • Granderson was 3-for-5 in the game with a triple and two singles. He also scored his major-league-leading 112th run. He also leads the American League in triples with 10. But Granderson also displayed some fielding prowess with two outfield assists in the first two innings. In the first he cut off a drive in left-center by Plouffe and threw Plouffe out at second base trying to stretch a single into a double. The next inning Granderson had a line drive off the bat of Butera hit off the bottom of his glove, which scored the Twins’ second run of the inning. But, Granderson picked up the ball and fired to Derek Jeter to retire Nishioka, who ran back to first thinking Granderson had caught the ball. Butera was robbed of a hit because the play was scored a fielder’s choice.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Despite Sabathia’s victory, he did not pitch well for the third straight game. In his last three starts, Sabathia has given up 16 runs (15 earned) on 29 hits and two walks in 22 innings. That is an ERA of 6.14 and a walks-to-innings-pitched ratio (WHIP) of 1.41. Command of the fastball seems to be biggest issue. Sabathia is leaving pitches up in the strike zone or missing altogether. It is a concern because the Yankees have just 40 games left in the regular season.
  • Gardner was the only starter without a hit in the game but he did contribute the sac fly in the second that started the scoring for the Yankees. Though he is hitting .295 for the month, Gardner is suddenly hitless in his last nine at-bats.
  • Nunez made yet another error. This one was pretty inexplicable. He caught the bouncer off the bat of Plouffe but dropped the ball as he moved to third to force out Butera. It is his 16th error of the season and he leads the Yankees by far in that category.

BOMBER BANTER

Former Yankee manager and current executive vice president of baseball operations Joe Torre said Thursday that an umpire misinterpreted the ground rules at Kauffman Stadium in awarding a home run to Billy Butler of the Royals the previous nigh in a game against the Yankees. Butler lined a ball that hit off the left-field wall and was ruled a home run. Girardi disputed the home run and the umpires reviewed the call by use of instant replay. But crew chief Dana DeMuth misunderstood the ground rules in awarding the home run to Kansas City, who ended up winning the game 5-4. Girardi did not protest the game before a pitch was made to the next batter and therefore the call will stand, Torre said. Of course, had Girardi protested the game it still would be a moot point and the Yankees would have just received an apology letter from Major League Baseball.  . . .   Freddy Garcia had his bullpen session pushed back a day to Friday. Garcia, who has a cut on a finger of his right hand, will throw on Friday and it is looking unlikely he will be able to start in the series against the Twins this weekend.  . . .  Alex Rodriguez rejoined the Yankees on Thursday but he was not activated and looks as if he will not play until at least Saturday. Rodriguez has been sidelined since having surgery on July 11 to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.

ON DECK

The Yankees continue their four-game series with the Twins on Friday.

Right-hander Phil Hughes (3-4, 6.55 ERA) will start for the Yankees. Hughes pitched his best game of the season against the Rays last week, allowing two runs in six innings. He is 3-3 with a 4.28 ERA since returning from the disabled list in July. He is 0-0 with a 3.68 ERA in his career against the Twins.

The Twins will counter with right-hander Kevin Slowey (0-0, 4.91 ERA). Slowey will be making his first start of season because his scheduled start Sunday against the Indians was rained out. He is 1-1 with a 4.56 ERA in his career against the Yankees.

Game-time will be at 8:10 p.m EDT and the game will be telecast by the YES Network.

Hughes Answers Doubters As Yanks Sweep Twins Again

AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES – GAME 3
YANKEES 6, TWINS 1

The baseball pundits’ mantra entering this postseason was: The Yankees have CC Sabathia and a lot of question marks in their starting rotation.
Phil Hughes’ reply on Saturday evening was to pitch seven dominant innings of shutout baseball to eliminate the Minnesota Twins and put an exclamation point after the sentence: The Yankees rotation in this ALDS was 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA!
With the victory the Yankees qualified for the American League Championship Series for the second time in two seasons and it was the first time they have advanced in the AL playoffs as a wild card.
The Yankees also eliminated the Twins from the playoffs for the fourth time in four meetings since 2003 and they have defeated the Twins in nine consecutive postseason games, the longest such stretch of domination in major-league history between two teams.
Hughes (1-0) is participating in his third postseason with the Yankees but had never started a postseason game until Saturday. If he had any nerves he never showed it as he mowed the Twins down in order for the first three innings.
He gave up a leadoff single to Denard Span to start the fourth but Span was erased on a double play off the bat of Orlando Hudson on the next pitch. 
The Twins put two runners on in the fifth on a one-out single by Delmon Young and veteran DH Jim Thome drew a walk. But Hughes struck out Michael Cuddyer and induced rookie third baseman Danny Valencia to pop out to Mark Teixeira to end the threat.
The Twins also mounted a two-out threat in the sixth when Hudson and Joe Mauer stroked singles that both just eluded Cano’s leaps. However, Hughes fanned Jason Kubel to end that frame.
Hughes threw 99 pitches and 67 of them were strikes. He gave up four hits and one walk and struck out six batters with an electric fastball that the Twins’ hitters could not center. 
While Hughes was throwing up zeros, the Yankees were having their way with left-hander Brian Duensing (0-1). 
The Yankees scored single runs in the second and third innings on RBI singles by Jorge Posada and Teixeira to stake Hughes to an early 2-0 lead. Posada’s RBI was the 41st of his career and moved him past Mickey Mantle to ninth on the all-time list.
The Yankees expanded that lead and chased Duensing in the fourth inning when Cano opened the inning with an infield hit and DH Marcus Thames followed with a two-run blast into bleachers in right-center to put the Yankees up 4-0.
But the Yankees tacked on another run that inning when Curtis Granderson drew a one-out walk, which ended Duensing’s night early. Granderson stole second on Twins reliever Mark Guerrier and took third when Mauer’s throw to second trickled into center-field.
It was the first and only error of the series between these two teams, which were also the top two teams in the AL in committing the fewest errors. (The Yankees were first and the Twins were second).
The error came back to take a big bite out of the snakebit Twins, too. Gardner then lofted a fly ball to left-field that scored Granderson with the Yankees’ fifth run.
Duensing was charged for all five runs on seven hits and a walk in 3 1/3 innings. Duensing is 0-2 in two postseason starts. Both losses have come to the Yankees. Duensing lost Game 1 of the 2009 AL Division Series to the Yankees in what also would eventually become a 3-0 sweep.
Nick Swisher made it a half-dozen-run lead in the seventh inning with a leadoff home run off Twins right-hander Scott Baker. 
The Yankees then turned to their bullpen in the eighth inning to close out the game. However, the usually reliable Kerry Wood instead decided to pay homage to much-maligned former Yankees’ setup man Kyle Farnsworth.
Wood gave up a leadoff double off the left-field wall to Valencia. Then, with one out, he gave up a single to Span and Hudson followed with an RBI single to score Valencia and spoil the shutout bid. Wood dug a further hole by walking Mauer to load the bases.
However, the Yankee bullpen, which has been so reliable since the All-Star break, came to Wood’s rescue.
Left-hander Boone Logan threw one pitch to Jason Kubel and retired the lefty slugger on a weak popup to Alex Rodriguez at third. Manager Joe Girardi then summoned right-hander David Robertson to face the right-handed-hitting Young.
On Robertson’s third pitch Young flied out harmlessly to Granderson in center and the Twins lost their last good chance to climb their way back into the game and the series.
Girardi, taking no chances, used All-Star closer Mariano Rivera to polish off the game and the series. Rivera needed only 12 pitches to put away the Twins quietly in order in the ninth.
As Valencia lofted a two-out fly to Gardner in left, a majority of the 50,840 fans at Yankee Stadium — who were on their feet throughout the inning — cheered their defending champions, who are now four victories away from their 41st World Series appearance.
For the Twins, it was the fifth time they have been eliminated in the first round and the fourth time the Yankees were the culprit. The hits by Span and Hudson off Wood in the eighth were their only two hits in the series the Twins had with runners in scoring position. In the series they were 2-for-16 (.125). The Yankees, by contrast, were 9-for-25 (.360).
The Yankees, who refused to celebrate the clinching of a playoff spot or their entry into the ALDS as a wild card in the playoffs, popped the corks of champagne in their clubhouse in their first celebration of the first step on their quest for the 28th world championship.
The Yankees must now await the winner of the Tampa Bay Rays-Texas Rangers series to find out where they will be open the AL Championship Series. The Rangers currently lead the best-of-five series 2-1.
Game 4 is scheduled for Sunday.
The Yankees, in the meantime, will have time to get some rest for their veterans and those players who have been hobbled by nagging injuries. In addition, they can reset their rotation for the best-of-seven ALCS with Sabathia, Pettitte and Hughes scheduled to pitch in that order.
I just have one question for the baseball pundits: Are these question marks after Sabathia (Pettitte and Hughes) pitching well enough for you to stop questioning them, please? 

Yankees Appear Primed For Yet Another Sweep Of Twins


The New York Yankees come into their series with Minnesota Twins as wild cards, seemingly limping and just about out of gas. Go ahead. Think that. It will just make the Yankees’ dominance over the Twins in recent years look even more impressive. The Twins actually did better against the Yankees this season, They won two games. Of course, the Yankees started Sergio Mitre and Javier Vazquez in those games and neither are starting these contests. So who will win?

OFFENSE

The Yankees are loaded with three hitters who drove in 100 runs and five starters who blasted 24 or more home runs. They also led the American League in runs scored.
Navigating through a lineup with Derek Jeter, Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Marcus Thames, Jorge Posada, Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner is not going to be easy for Francisco Liriano.
There is power galore and Granderson, Jeter and Gardner can steal bases when necessary. 
The Twins finally told Justin Morneau to shut it down for good on Monday. The first baseman, who was hitting .347 in July was ruled out for the rest of the season with the after-effects of a lingering concussion.
That is a big blow to the Twins, who must rely on catcher Joe Mauer to provide the lion’s share of the offense. He may have hit .327 but he only hit nine home runs and drove in 75 runs this season, reverting back to his early years.
The Twins rely on a simple formula: Get them on, get them over and get them in. That means they are interdependent lineup. Delmon Young is the new Morneau on this team after he hit 21 home runs, drove in 112 runs and hit .298 in a bounce-back season.
The Twins also rely on right-hand hitter Michael Cuddyer (81 RBIs) and lefties Jaosn Kubel (21 home runs and 92 RBIs) and Jim Thome (25 home runs) to provide pop to “get them in.”
Denard Span and Orlando Hudson are the guys expected to get on base. Span hit a miserable .264 but stole 26 bases. Hudson hit .268 and stole 10.
The sad thing for the Twins is left-handers give them fits because Mauer, Thome and Kubel all struggle against lefties. That puts more pressure on Cuddyer and Young to produce. Both have produced against ordinary lefties but neither has hit CC Sabathia well.
DEFENSE

The Yankees and Twins were No. 1 and No. 2 few the fewest errors committed in 2010. The Twins do not have dominant starting pitchers so they emphasize reducing walks, putting the ball in play, letting the defense make plays and not beating themselves with errors.
However, in the American League Division Series in 2009, the Twins kept making a litany of mental errors that eventually cost them the series. It is no accident the Yankees exploited that weakness because they are good at it.
The Twins do not boast a lot of speed but they make the plays in the field. Mauer is exceptional behind the plate. Orlando Hudson is former Gold Glove winner at second and Span has exceptional range in center.
The rest is pretty mediocre and Kubel is just plain awful in right.
The Yankees boast an infield with the Gold Glove winners and second baseman Robinson Cano likely deserves his first for his play this season. Combined Cano, Jeter, Teixeira and Rodriguez committed 19 errors. That is the lowest total for an infield in baseball.
Posada and Francisco Cervelli have not thrown well at all this season and they have not caught many runners. But most of the problem lies with pitchers like A.J. Burnett, who do not hold runners on well.
The Yankees outfield has speed and range with Granderson and Gardner and good arms with Gardner and Swisher (22 assists).
Neither team has a decided edge here but do not be surprised if a Twins error or mental mistake costs them a game in this series.
PITCHING

The Yankees feature a threesome of Sabathia, Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes, who are a combined 50-19 this season. The Twins are countering with Francisco Liriano, Carl Pavano and Brian Duensing, who were a combined 41-24.
Pettitte beat Liriano twice this season while Hughes and Sabathia did not make a start against the Twins. The pitcher who maybe should be starting for the Twins is Nick Blackburn. He beat the Yankees in the two games the Twins won. But Blackburn is scheduled to pitch Game 4 and that means he likely will face Sabathia. Lots of luck, Nick!
Duensing was in the bullpen when the Yankees played the Twins in May but he did start the first game of the ALDS against the Yankees last season and he failed to win.
Even with the questions surrounding Pettitte, shouldn’t there be questions surrounding Pavano? The former Yankee disabled list malingerer is 17-11 with a 3.75 ERA, however, since July 27 Pavano is 4-5 with a 4.85 ERA.
In September, Pavano was 2-1 with a 6.21 ERA. That hardly bodes well come playoff time.
The Yankees have a big edge here because left-handers will likely start four of the scheduled five games. The Twins just do not have a lineup that can do much damage against Sabathia and Pettitte when they are on their games.
BULLPEN

The Twins have gone through three closers in the wake of the injury to Joe Nathan that has forced him to miss the season.
They began with Jon Rauch and then tried former Angels closer Brian Fuentes. It seems they have now settled on former Pirates closer Matt Capps, who is 2-0 with a 2.00 ERA and 16 saves in 18 attempts.
Rauch is dealing with a sore left knee but is expected to be available. The Yankees know Fuentes all too well from his stint as the Angels’ closer in the American League Championship Series in 2009. Remember Alex Rodriguez?
The Twins also have a solid lefty in Jose Mijares and righties Jesse Crain and Matt Guerrier. The long man is expected to be Kevin Slowey.
The Yankees have the most successful closer in major-league playoff history in Mariano Rivera. Despite his three blown saves in September, it is hard to believe that Rivera will be anything but exceptional in his 15th postseason.
The Yankees also solidified their bullpen with the trade deadline acquisition of Kerry Wood. Wood has only given up one earned run since joining the Yankees on Aug. 1. Joba Chamberlain has also improved from his horrible mid-season to record a 2.36 ERA since Wood joined the team.
David Robertson and Boone Logan have provided consistent middle relief as well and the Yankees have two solid long relievers in Sergio Mitre and Dustin Moseley.
You have to give a decided edge here to the Yankees, given the presence of Rivera and Wood and the fact that Chamberlain, Robertson and Logan have been so good in the last two months of the season.
BENCH

The Yankees have a solid hitter in Lance Berkman and power in right-hand slugger Marcus Thames. They also have a veteran outfielder in Austin Kearns and speed and defense in the form of infielder Ramiro Pena and outfielder Greg Golson. Cervelli is a solid backup catcher though he likely will not play in the series.
The Twins use a lot of platoons which means their bench players do start at times. They have Jim Thome as a part-time
DH and Drew Butera is the backup catcher but he will not play with Mauer around.
The Twins rotate shortstops in Alexi Casilla and J.J. Hardy and Nick Punto and Danny Valencia at third. The also have outfielder Jason Repko.
The Twins bench is functional but hardly loaded. It is more of a solid bench. The Yankees bench is not a strength but they do not intend to use it much in the opening round. 
So I do not think either team has a true edge here.
PREDICTION: The Yankees will win it in three games.


A-Rod’s Slam Sends Twins To Another Yankee Defeat

GAME 35
YANKEES 8, TWINS 4

It is a good thing for the Yankees that Twins manager Ron Gardenhire disregarded what looked to be a bad pitching matchup and Alex Rodriguez said “Thank you very much.”
After Gardenhire ordered lefty reliever Brian Duensing to walk Mark Teixiera to load the bases with one out in the seventh inning, he summoned Mark Guerrier from the bullpen to pitch to Rodriguez, despite the fact Rodriguez was 4-for-6 with three home runs in his career against the right-hander.
On Guerrier’s second offering, Rodriguez drilled a grand-slam homer into left that turned a 4-3 deficit into a 7-4 lead as the Yankees came from behind to beat the Twins on Friday for the ninth straight regular season game.
Gardenhire’s record as manager at Yankee Stadium also dropped to 3-24.
Joba Chamberlain (1-1), who came into the eighth inning breathing smoke, struck out the side the eighth and earned the victory. Twins starter Scott Baker (4-3), who started the seventh by giving up an infield single and a double off his left knee to Derek Jeter, was saddled with the loss.
The Yankees improved to 23-12 this season and they also moved within one game of first place in the A.L. East. The Central Division-leading Twins dropped to 22-13.
YANKEE POSITIVES

  • A-Rod’s dramatic home run was the 19th grand slam of his career and the home run also moved him past Frank Robinson into seventh place on the all-time home run list with 587.
  • Francisco Cervelli continues to shine both behind and at the plate. In the sixth inning he cut down Alexi Casilla attempting to steal. In the bottom of the seventh it was his infield single that ignited the Yankees’ four-run rally. Cervelli then added an RBI triple in the eighth to give the Yankees an insurance run. Cervelli is batting .415 on the season.
  • Brett Gardner hammered hi
    s second home run of the season to lead off the fourth inning that tied the game at one. He also singled and later scored a run in the fifth inning on Teixeira’s double that gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead. Gardner was 2-for-5 on the night and now is hitting .333.
  • Robinson Cano, who has been slumping all this month, collected a pair of doubles and he drove in a run. The 2-for-4 night raised his average back to .338.
  • Starter A.J. Burnett deserved a better fate. He did not have command of his fastball most of the night and still held the Twins to just two runs on seven hits and four walks over 6 2/3 innings.
THE NEGATIVES

  • Burnett actually was charged with giving up three runs because Damaso Marte continues to show that he has no earthly idea where his pitches are going. Marte was called into the game to replace Burnett with two outs and Denard Span at second and lefty-swinging Joe Mauer up. He gave up a single to Mauer that tied it up and then he allowed lefty-swinging Justin Morneau to double in Mauer to give the Twins a 4-3 lead.
  • Recent injuries to Curtis Granderson, Nick Johnson and Nick Swisher have exposed a “black hole” in the bottom of the Yankees lineup. Randy Winn entered the game in the fourth inning batting sixth for Swisher, followed by Marcus Thames and rookie DH Juan Miranda. Twins starter Scott Baker took advantage of them in the fourth inning with the Yankees leading 2-1 with no outs and Rodriguez at third and Cano at second. All the No. 6 and No. 7 hitters needed to do was make good contact to get one or both runners in. Instead, Baker struck out Winn, Thames and Miranda in succession.
  • Winn, Thames and Miranda also failed in the sixth inning after Cano led off the inning with a double. Winn flew out to shallow left, Thames struck out on a pitch that bounced up to the plate and Miranda popped up to the infield.
DIAMOND NOTES

There is some concern about Nick Swisher, who was forced to leave the game in the fourth inning with a recurrence of pain in his left biceps.  Swisher left Wednesday night’s game at Detroit with the same problem and sat out Thursday’s game against the Tigers. However, in his first at-bat in the second inning he winced in pain as he struck out. He was allowed to remain in the game but manager Joe Girardi decided to take him out before the start of the fourth inning. Swisher had an MRI at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital that was negative. Swisher is listed as day-to-day with a slight strain of the left biceps.  . . .  Granderson took some light batting practice Friday but he will not be coming off the disabled list when he is eligible on Monday. Granderson might begin some light jogging on Saturday, Girardi told reporters. But the center fielder, who is nursing a strained left groin, hopes to be back by the end of the month.  . . .  Girardi named Sergio Mitre as the starter for the Yankees’ series finale with the Twins on Sunday. Mitre, who subbed for Andy Pettitte in a start on Monday, will have to be used again because Tuesday’s rainout in Detroit meant that both Phil Hughes and Javier Vazquez would not have enough time between starts because both pitched on Wednesday.
THE NEXT GAME

The Yankees will send veteran left-hander Andy Pettitte (4-0, 2.08 ERA) to the mound for the second of the series. Pettitte left his last start after five innings with soreness in his left elbow and the Yankees, as a precaution, skipped his last start. Pettitte won his only regular season start against the Twins last year, pitching 6 2/3 innings and giving up four runs. He is 9-5 with a 3.70 ERA in 19 career starts against the Twins.
Pettitte will be opposed by fellow left-hander Francisco Liriano (4-1, 2.36 ERA). Liriano lost in his last outing against Baltimore. He gave up 10 hits and five runs in six innings. It was his first loss since September of last season and the 10 hits were most hits he has given up since May of last season.
Game-time will be 1:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast locally by the YES Network.