New York Yankees 4 — Minnesota Twins 5
Boone Logan can’t end the 7th before losing lead in tonight’s 5-4 loss to the Minnesota Twins.
Phil Hughes started tonight and was outstanding. His first difficult inning came in the 4th inning when catcher Joe Mauer led off with a single. Outfielder Chris Parmelee got to Hughes with a double to left field that Raul Ibanez had some difficulty fielding, allowing Mauer to score from 1st base. This would be a run scored following the top half of the inning when the Yankees scored. He would finish the inning and would cruise until his final inning of work in the 7th. A single and a walk raised red flags and the bullpen got stirring in the 7th inning. Hughes would get another out before the bases would be loaded on a diving stop by Derek Jeter to keep the hit in the infield. Phil Hughes would strikeout shortstop Pedro Florimon with his 99th pitch of the game and it would be the end of his night. While in the game, Hughes allowed just 1 run in 6.2 innings of work but he left with 3 runners on base and the game was put into the hands of Boone Logan. With 4 left-handed batters coming up, a left-handed pitcher seemed to be the best choice if Hughes had been showing signs of tiring. Unfortunately, Logan was not effective as he would allow 1 run to score on a wild pitch during Denard Span’s at-bat. Denard Span would get a double into right center to bring in 2 more runs. A walk and a single by Joe Mauer would bring in the 4th run of the night before Logan could end the inning. Boone Logan could not get 3 of the 4 left-handed batters out and would add 3 more runs to the pitching line of Hughes. Looking back, Joe Girardi could have went in a number of directions in the 7th inning. He could have left Phil Hughes in to build on his strikeout or even turn to Clay Rapada.
Minnesota starter Esmerling Vasquez had 4 starts this season prior to tonight’s game and looked impressive. He got through 6 innings and was only hurt by the long ball. In the 4th inning, Robinson Cano led off with a single and Nick Swisher put the Yankees ahead with a 2-run home run. In a rare occurrence, there were 2 double plays turned with a strikeout and a runner caught stealing 2nd, both ending innings. Vasquez gave up just the 2 runs in his 6 innings of work despite just having 4 starts under his belt. Reliever Casey Fien came in in the 7th inning and the first pitch he threw to Russell Martin was put into the bullpen in left field for a home run before Fien could even get settled. The Yankees attempt at a 9th inning comeback could only get 1 run. Against left-handed closer Glen Perkins, Andruw Jones was called on for a pinch-hitting opportunity in place of Raul Ibanez and he proceeded to take a hanging slider deep into left field for a solo home run. Jayson Nix would strikeout to end the game and give the Yankees the loss.
Win – Casey Fien (2-1)
Loss – Phil Hughes (16-13)
Save – Glen Perkins (15)
Notables
Yankees
*Nick Swisher – 1 for 4, R, 2-Run Home Run (24) in the 4th, 2 RBI (89)
*Russell Martin – 2 for 4, R, Solo Home Run (18) in the 7th, RBI (49)
Twins
*Denard Span – 1 for 4, R, 2B, 2 RBI (39)
*Chris Parmelee – 1 for 3, R, BB, 2B, RBI (20)
Current Yankees Record: 89-65
