Minnesota Twins 0 — New York Yankees 2
To open the final series before the All-Star break, the Yankees get a 2-0 win over the Minnesota Twins on a wet night.
The Yankees had Hiroki Kuroda on the mound and he faced some early trouble from the Twins’ M&M boys, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. A pair of singles by Mauer and Morneau came with two outs in the first but Kuroda got the out he needed. The Yankees got a pair of walks from Cano and Wells but Zoilo Almonte would ground out to end the inning too.
The constant rain would finally be too much by the fourth inning. Rain delay.
An hour later, Kuroda would return to the mound for the fifth inning. Mauer and Morneau would reach by double and walk but Kuroda would get the out he needed to finish off five innings of work. In five scoreless innings, Kuroda allowed six hits and walked two while striking out five.
Five innings is the minimum for a win, but he needs run support first.
Luis Cruz started the bottom half of the first inning with a single. Chris Stewart would move over Cruz with a bunt and the Yankees would get their first run of the game. Brett Gardner singled home Cruz. After a pitching change to a left-hander, the Twins decided to pitch to Robinson Cano and the Yankees second baseman would bring home Brett Gardner and the Yankees had a two-run lead. Kuroda was in line for the win.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Vernon Wells hit a double over the head of centerfielder Aaron Hicks. Attempting to get to third, Aaron Hicks would throw from the warning track to get Wells’ out without a bounce.
Preston Claiborne had a solid sixth inning but faced trouble in the seventh with a pair of singles to start the inning. With a trio of left-handed bats coming up, Boone Logan would be brought in to help Claiborne out of a tough situation. Logan would start his appearance with a strikeout of outfielder Chris Parmelee after he was unable to get the bunt down. With a 3-2 count, Logan got Joe Mauer looking at a big sweeping slider that came back to the strike zone. Then, on a close check swing, Justin Morneau was called for a swinging strike three to end the inning.
David Robertson, following finishing in second place of the Final Vote, got the eighth inning and pitched like an All-Star. He struck out two of the three batters he faced and passed on the two-run lead to Mariano Rivera.
The Yankees All-Star closer made quick work in tonight’s long rainy game. He got his 30th save of the game and sent the Yankees fans home a little wet but plenty happy.
Win – Hiroki Kuroda (8-6)
Loss – Ryan Pressly (2-2)
Save – Mariano Rivera (30)
Notables
Twins
*Joe Mauer – 2 for 3, 2B
*Brian Dozier – 2 for 5, 2B
Yankees
*Brett Gardner – 1 for 3, R, BB, RBI (32)
*Robinson Cano – 1 for 2, 2 BB, RBI (63)
Current Yankees Record: 51-42
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