Game #4: Yankees 4, Twins 3 - 4 April 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Yankees 4, Twins 3
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/image.../80x80/min.png (1-3)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
R H E MIN
0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0
3 8 0 NYY
2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 x
4 7 1 W:Nova (1-0)L:Baker (0-1)SV:Rivera (3)
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/image.../80x80/nyy.png (3-1)
Yankees' bullpen finishes job for Nova
Two-run homers by A-Rod, Posada enough against Twins
By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com | 4/4/2011 9:46 PM ET
http://mediadownloads.mlb.com/mlbam/...3271_th_10.jpg MIN@NYY: A-Rod rips a two-run shot down the line
NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada hit two-run homers to support Ivan Nova's first start of the year as the Yankees defeated the Twins, 4-3, on Monday at Yankee Stadium.
The Bombers' bats remained hot while New York enjoys its season-opening homestand, as Rodriguez and Posada increased the Yankees' homer total to 11 through the club's first four contests.
A lock for the Yankees' rotation after impressing late last year and in a strong spring, the 24-year-old Nova held the Twins hitless into the fourth inning before running into trouble the second time through the lineup.
Jim Thome stroked a two-run double to put Minnesota on the board in the fourth, scoring Justin Morneau and Delmon Young, both of whom reached base with two outs already on the board.
Alexi Casilla and Tsuyoshi Nishioka doubled off Nova in the fifth to cut the Twins' deficit to one run, but Nova navigated the sixth to leave his outing at three runs on six hits, with one walk and three strikeouts over 83 pitches (50 strikes).
Nova had early support to his credit, as Rodriguez and Posada went deep off Twins starter Scott Baker to stake the right-hander to a four-run lead after two innings.
After Mark Teixeira was hit in the right foot by a pitch, Rodriguez connected in the first inning for his second blast of the year, turning on a Baker fastball for a line-drive rocket to left field.
Posada extended the lead in the second inning, smacking his third two-run homer in the past two games when he connected with a heater and delivered it to the right-field seats with Nick Swisher aboard.
With his two RBIs on Monday, Rodriguez surpassed Hall of Famer Dave Winfield (1,834) on the all-time RBI list, while equaling Rafael Palmeiro's career RBI total.
The Yankees threatened for more in the fourth off Baker, but Young saved at least one run with a diving catch on a Brett Gardner liner toward the left-field line.
Baker completed six innings, allowing four runs on five hits while walking four and striking out four in a 96-pitch outing that included 58 strikes.
Joba Chamberlain pitched a clean seventh inning for the Yankees, handing off to Rafael Soriano and Mariano Rivera in the eighth and ninth, respectively.
Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Game #5: Twins 5, Yankees 4
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Twins 5, Yankees 4
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/image.../80x80/min.png (2-3)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E MIN
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 1
5 7 0 NYY
3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 6 0 W:Capps (1-0)L:Logan (0-1)SV:Nathan (2)
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/image.../80x80/nyy.png (3-2)
Yanks' late lead morphs into stunning loss
Sabathia's masterpiece wasted as bullpen caves in eighth inning
By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com | 4/5/2011 10:30 PM ET
http://mediadownloads.mlb.com/mlbam/...5851_th_10.jpg MIN@NYY: Teixeira's three-run blast puts the Yanks up
NEW YORK -- Joe Mauer laced a run-scoring single off left-hander Boone Logan in the top of the 10th inning on Tuesday, lifting the Twins to a 5-4 victory over the Yankees at Yankee Stadium.
With his team holding a four-run lead going to the eighth inning, Rafael Soriano walked three batters -- including a free pass to Mauer that forced in the first Twins run -- before leaving with the bases loaded.
Delmon Young reset the game with a three-run blooped double off Dave Robertson that landed in shallow right field while Nick Swisher tumbled in pursuit, allowing Minnesota to clear the bases as Mauer slid home safely to tie it up.
Mariano Rivera held the Twins scoreless in the ninth, but Logan issued a leadoff walk to Denard Span and gave up a single to Tsuyoshi Nishioka before Mauer pushed a hit past a drawn-in Robinson Cano at second base, giving the Twins their first lead of the night.
The Yankees' bullpen implosion flushed a dominant start by CC Sabathia, who was in total command of the Twins for seven innings, receiving support in the form of big homers from Mark Teixeira and Andruw Jones.
Making his second start of the young season, Sabathia deftly handled Minnesota's lineup on a raw evening, retiring the final 17 batters he faced and limiting the Twins to a pair of second-inning singles.
The left-hander had some loud early backing, as Teixeira continued his scorching start by blasting a three-run homer in the first off Minnesota's Brian Duensing, Teixeira's fourth homer in five games.
Turning on a 2-0 changeup and pummeling it into the left-field seats with Derek Jeter and Swisher aboard, Teixeira collected his eighth, ninth and 10th RBIs of the year, evidence that his new approach is paying dividends.
Having scrapped time in the weight room in favor of repeated swings in the batting cage, Teixeira has now surpassed his April homer and RBI output from last season, when he slugged two homers and drove in nine runs.
Jones extended the Yankees' lead to four runs in the second inning, becoming the 13th Yankee in the post-expansion era (since 1961) -- and the first since Curtis Granderson on April 4, 2010 -- to homer in his first at-bat with the franchise.
The 33-year-old Jones, who has been told to be ready to play against lefties, whacked a laser into the first row in left field.
Duensing settled in afterward, pitching through the seventh and limiting New York to six hits while striking out seven and walking two.
But after allowing back-to-back one-out hits to Jason Kubel and Danny Valencia in the second inning, Sabathia started a string that would take him through the seventh without a baserunner, finishing his performance with a walk and six strikeouts.
Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
