Cooler but still well above normal this week

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support


      NEW YORK (AP) - Joe Mauer, Delmon Young and the Minnesota Twins
finally found some good fortune at Yankee Stadium.


      Mauer hit a go-ahead single in the 10th inning and Minnesota
broke through in the Bronx, rallying past the New York Yankees 5-4
on Tuesday night to overcome a dominant outing by CC Sabathia.


      "It's never easy to play them, no matter where the game is. And
even when you get a lead, those guys know how to win," Twins
manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Our boys showed a lot of courage. It
was a great win."


      Young blooped a three-run double in the eighth to tie it and the
Twins took advantage of five walks by Yankees relievers in the last
three innings. Matt Capps (1-0) got six straight outs and Joe
Nathan earned his second save since missing last season following
Tommy John surgery on his elbow.


      "It was a good win for us to battle back against this team in
this stadium," Nathan said. "Tough conditions, throwing and
hitting. It seemed almost like we were throwing ice cubes, it was
so cold and dry."

      The comeback had to be especially satisfying for the Twins.
Including playoff games, they are 7-31 in the Bronx since
Gardenhire took over as manager in 2002. New York has won 18 of the
last 21 meetings overall, counting three-game sweeps in the AL
division series each of the past two years.


      Mark Teixeira hit another three-run homer to extend his
exceptional start and Andruw Jones went deep his first time up with
the Yankees, who appeared poised to torment the Twins yet again
before the bullpen collapsed.


      Sabathia tossed seven shutout innings, retiring his final 17
batters. The big left-hander yielded just a pair of second-inning
singles before a light crowd on the latest chilly night for
baseball in the Bronx.


      He struck out six, walked one and was pulled after 104 pitches.
But the Yankees couldn't preserve a four-run lead.


      "Just one of those nights. It's going to happen. But I have
full confidence that these guys are going to shut the door nine
times out of 10, and that's really the strength of our team,"
Sabathia said.


      New setup man Rafael Soriano, spotless in his first two outings
after signing a $35 million, three-year contract, walked three in
the eighth. The last one, to Mauer, forced in a run and when Young
plopped a three-run double into right off David Robertson, the
Twins had fought back to tie it.


      "We'll take it. It landed in the right place. That's all you
need," Gardenhire said. "We were fortunate to have the runners
running on that play since it was a 3-2 count. It was nice to see
one go our way."


      Denard Span drew a leadoff walk from Boone Logan (0-1) in the
10th and Tsuyoshi Nishioka fouled off two bunt attempts before
hitting a single to right that sent Span to third. Mauer lined a
single to right through a drawn-in infield.


      Minnesota starter Brian Duensing quickly fell behind 4-0 in his
season debut, continuing a frustrating trend for himself and the
Twins at Yankee Stadium.


      Duensing lost in New York in both division series losses, unable
to get through the fifth inning in either outing. This time, he
settled in after a rocky start and went seven, keeping Minnesota
within striking distance.


      "I put us in a big hole right away and for our offense and
defense to battle back like that, to stick with it and battle back
against good pitchers, it was exciting," Duensing said.


      Danny Valencia walked to start the eighth, pinch-hitter Jim
Thome worked a free pass with one out and Span singled to load the
bases. After Nishioka struck out looking, Mauer walked for his
first RBI of the season.


      Robertson came on and Young looped a 3-2 delivery toward the
right-field line. The ball dropped just in front of a sliding Nick
Swisher and squirted past him, allowing all three runners to score.


      "We were in a no-doubles situation. It was an aggressive
mistake and we paid for it," Swisher said. "I thought I was going
to make the catch, I really did. I was flying in there and the ball
just kept fading away."


      Derek Jeter drew a leadoff walk in the first and Swisher singled
before Teixeira pulled a 2-0 pitch into the left-field stands for
his fourth home run in five games this year. It was his third
three-run shot, and the first time he's connected from the right
side.
     

Gallery

Sports

Minnesota Twins

Joe Mauer, Delmon Young and the Minnesota Twins
finally found some good fortune at Yankee Stadium.

Matt Tolbert, Denard Span, Joe Mauer, Dave Roberts

Twins break through in the Bronx, rally past Yanks

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox