Minnesota Twins 1 — New York Yankees 3
Some early woes erased with late game success and a solid, dependable ace.
When the first batter reaches on an error, the game does not feel good. An error on third baseman Kelly Johnson put a runner on for Masahiro Tanaka to deal with. Three batters later, left fielder Josh Willingham was giving the Twins the early one-run lead. Good for the Yankees, Twins’ starter Kevin Correia entered today’s game with a 6.34 ERA, highest for a starting pitcher in the majors.
The Yankees started the first inning as good as you could want. Brett Gardner hit a single, Jeter followed with a double and Jacoby Ellsbury followed with a walk. The bases were loaded for first baseman Mark Teixeira. The Yankees first baseman would start the at-bat with a 2-0 count but ended up striking out swinging for the first out of the inning. Brian McCann would hit into a double play to spoil a bases loaded, no out opportunity. In the second inning, the Yankees got two on with one out but Brendan Ryan hit into a double play of his own to end the rally again.
The Yankees would finally get to Kevin Correia in the fourth inning. Following the two hits to end last night, Yangervis Solarte would start today with a single in the second inning and a game-tying solo home run in the fourth. His sixth home run of the season continues the storybook season for the non-roster spring training invitee.
After essentially cleaning Tanaka’s slate, the Yankees pitcher would have a batter reach in the fifth and sixth inning but followed them both with ground outs for double plays. Masahiro Tanaka would strike out three of the final six batters he faced to put together a great start despite a pair of errors.
Over eight innings, Masahiro Tanaka allowed one run, no earned runs, on four hits while walking two and striking out nine.
The Yankees still had to score to break the 1-1 tie and they would wait until the bullpen took over for Kevin Correia, who allowed one run on nine hits over six innings. Against reliever Brian Duensing, Jacoby Ellsbury hit a one-out single. He would steal second base during Brian Roberts at-bat (who took over the #4 spot in the lineup when Mark Teixeira’s sore right wrist became a problem again) and the short throw by catcher Yosmil Pinto got into center field to let Ellsbury take third base. Roberts would walk and Brian McCann would put the Yankees ahead with a run-scoring double to right center field. The Yankees would get an insurance run on an infield single by Kelly Johnson. With the lead intact in the ninth inning, the Yankees turned to David Robertson.
The Yankees closer would start the ninth inning with a strikeout. A runner would reach on the fielding error by Solarte but Robertson would pick up his defense with a pair of strikeouts to end the game.
Win – Masahiro Tanaka (8-1)
Loss – Brian Duensing (1-2)
Save – David Robertson (12)
Notables
Twins
*Josh Willingham – 1 for 3, BB, RBI (6)
*Eduardo Escobar – 2 for 4
Yankees
*Yangervis Solarte – 3 for 4, R, Solo Home Run (6) in the 4th, RBI (26)
*Brian McCann – 2 for 4, 2 2B, RBI (24)
Current Yankees Record: 29-25
