Back with more around 3:30, when the lineups have been posted and I'm out of class.
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We got lineups:
| Minnesota |
| New York |
|
| Denard Span | RF | Derek Jeter | SS |
| Orlando Cabrera | SS | Johnny Damon | LF |
| Joe Mauer | C | Mark Teixiera | 1B |
| Jason Kubel | DH | Alex Rodriguez | 3B |
| Michael Cuddyer | 1B | Hideki Matsui | DH |
| Delmon Young | LF | Nick Swisher | RF |
| Carlos Gomez | CF | Robinson Cano | 2B |
| Matt Tolbert | 3B | Melky Cabrera | CF |
| Nick Punto | 2B | Jose Molina | C |
|
|
|
|
| Nick Blackburn | SP | A.J. Burnett | SP |
Carlos Gomez is in today's lineup, while Brendan Harris is coming off the bench. Gomez replaces Kubel in the field, and that's clearly a defensive upgrade for the Twins. But Nick Blackburn's on the hill, and he's a pretty extreme groundball pitcher, so Gomez's impact tonight might not be as great as if, say, Scott Baker was pitching. Then again, this is probably the best move the Twins could make, because they're much better defensively with Gomez in the field and Kubel as the DH, and
Gomez and
Harris both suck against righties.
We should also get this out of the way now: tonight is the Twins' best chance to win a game this series. Primarily because they're facing a RHP. As a whole,
the Twins' lineup is pretty bad - or, at the least, very top-heavy. But they actually get even worse when facing LHP, which they'll face in games 3 and 4.
Mauer and
Span still hit lefties well (strangely, Span's better against lefties than righties), and Cuddy's good against both lefties and righties. But
Kubel turns into Carlos Gomez when facing LHP, as he's hit .243/.299/.345 against lefties this year while he's mashed righties to the tune of a 1.016 OPS. Against RHP, the Twins have 4 excellent hitters in the lineup, while against LHP, they only have 3.
A.J. Burnett's not exactly someone who's pitched well under pressure this year, either. And while Nick Blackburn may not be the perfect pitcher to beat the Yankees - he doesn't miss many bats, and against a Yankee team that has 8 players who can hit for power that can be a problem - but he's going to make N.Y.'s lineup work for their hits and not give them easy runs. Hopefully, Blackburn's able to keep the ball down in the strikezone and induce groundballs to what should be a strong defensive infield.
Oh, and Jose Molina's in the lineup too, meaning the #9 spot is a black hole for the Yanks. Unfortunately, Molina at catcher means Gomez's effectiveness on the basepaths is likely to suffer.
We'll get underway shortly. I promise not to comment on the Nobel Peace Prize "drama," and I'll try to keep criticism of Gardy to a minimum. Because while I'm often critical of Rodrick H. Gardenhire, I still think he's one of the better managers in baseball, and, outside of how he uses the #2 spot in the lineup, I don't have any MAJOR complaints about him that I wouldn't have about any other MLB manager.
I will not, however, refrain from criticizing announcers for phrases like "true Yankee" and/or other intangible bullshit that plays the result . That's half the fun of this exercise.
TOP OF THE FIRST:Denard Span takes two strikes, one on a fastball and one on a slider, and then hits a soft line drive that Johnny Damon easily collects in LF. One out.
I'll say this now, because I don't know if I've said it before: I really like the PitchTrax box TBS has on the right side of the screen.
Orlando Cabrera weakly grounds to Derek Jeter, who maybe has to take two steps to his left. Cabrera's thrown out easily. Two outs.
Joe Mauer works a two out walk, with only one pitch really being close. Kubel will step up to the plate with a man on first and two out.
Kubel takes a pitch that's well off the plate then swings through a good looking fastball. After fouling the next pitch back, Kubel strikes out on a slider from Burnett. The Twins strand one runner.
BOTTOM OF THE FIRST:Nick Blackburn's first two pitches miss low, but he gets Derek Jeter to ground out to Orlando Cabrera. One out.
Blackburn gets Damon to pop out to LF on five pitches. Two out, and Mark Teixiera comes to the plate.
Teixiera, who our TBS crew tells us was 6-6 off Blackburn coming into this game, harmlessly pops up to second. Blackburn gets out of the inning on 16 pitches. After one, we're scoreless.
TOP OF THE SECOND:Michael Cuddyer leads off the second for Minnesota, and singles to right on a 1-2 count.
Despite the walk and the base hit, Burnett looks pretty good so far. He's getting very good movement on his breaking pitches, and he's doing a decent job of hitting his spots. When he's on, Burnett's one of the best pitchers in baseball, as his stuff has always been among MLB's best. The issue has always been his command. So far tonight, his command looks pretty solid, which is bad news for the Twins.
Delmon strikes out on a slider and looks pretty powerless doing so. Minnesota has one out and a runner on first for the immortal Carlos Gomez.
Gomez, who's never seen a pitch outside the strike zone he can't flail at, grounds out to SS. Cuddyer moves over to second base with two out.
And we're treated to our first reference of someone "having fun," as Chip Carey informs us that Gardy likes Gomez because of "how much fun he has playing." I like Gomez for different reasons - because of his defense and his afro - but I guess the conclusion is the same.
To nobody's surprise, Matt Tolbert grounds out weakly to the right side of the infield. The Twins strand a runner at second. Through two innings, Burnett's thrown 30 pitches.
BOTTOM OF THE SECOND:
On three pitches, Blackburn gets A-Rod to harmlessly pop out to first base.
Hideki Matsui steps to the plate, and Blackburn quickly falls behind in the count. He can't recover and Matsui draws the walk. N.Y. has a man on first with one out.
Nick Swisher, described as a "free spirit" who's "really changed the tone and tenor of the Yankee locker room," strikes out on a fastball at his nipples. Blackburn and the Twins have two out, with Matsui still at first base.
Robinson Cano hits one off the end of his bat, and it's scooped up by Blackburn, who throws to first in time to nab Cano. After two, we're scoreless.
TOP OF THE THIRD:"Nick Punto gives you those skills you don't always see." Yes. Such as "sliding into first base" and "not hitting for power or getting on base."
Oh, and Nick Punto's the second best athlete on the team. Great. Fucking terrific. You know when that means something? If the Twins enter a goddamn decathlon.
Punto draws a walk. Good for him. The Twins have a man on first, nobody out, and they're back to the top of the lineup.
NO. DO NOT PLAY FUCKING SMALL BALL. The Twins are not winning this game 1-0. It's the third inning. Let your best hitters swing away. If Punto or Tolbert were up, then yes, sacrifice bunt. But not with Span or anyone at the top of the order.
Naturally, after my mini-rant Span nearly grounds into a double play. Span grounds out to Burnett, who goes to second with the ball, but the relay's not in time. The Twins have one out and a man on first.
Orlando Cabrera stings a ball to left, but Damon tracks it down. Span is nearly picked off first as well. Two out for the Twins, with Denard on first base.
This may be a good time to have Span run. If he's thrown out, then Mauer leads off the next inning, and nothing is really lost. Whereas if Span succeeds, he scores on a single.
Burnett gets Mauer to strike out looking on a back door slider. The Twins go quietly in their half of the third.
BOTTOM OF THE THIRD:Blackburn gets Melky Cabrera and Jose Molina to ground out to third and second, respectively. Blackburn's cruising so far, as the Yankees haven't really had one hard-hit ball on him.
And just as I say that, Derek Jeter flies out to the warning track in center field. Still, the ball stayed in the park. Three outs, and we're still scoreless.
TOP OF THE FOURTH:Important note: A.J. Burnett may have Jacory Harris-like side etchings in his hair. If he does....I may have to start rooting for the Yankees. I can't root against anyone with side etchings, especially if they're white.
Jason Kubel strikes out swinging, and looks very bad doing so. Cuddyer weakly pops out to first base, and just like that the Twins have two out.
WOO DELMON THATTA BOY. Delmon Young gets hit by a pitch.
And Gomez follows by getting hit by a pitch. Gomez takes one on the hand, and he's in pain, but he'll shake it off. Minnesota has two men on with two out.
Tolbert singles to right...but....Jesus H. Christ. Carlos fucking Gomez. Nick Swisher throws behind Gomez, who's rounding second, and Derek Jeter applies the tag on Gomez before Delmon Young is able to score. Gomez could have hung on long enough to let the run score had he kept running to third, and Young could have plated the run had he not loafed around third. But neither of them did, so the game remains scoreless.
BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH:On replay, Young is shown to have not been loafing. I apologize to Delmon. Instead, it's just a dumbshit play from Gomez.
Johnny Damon grounds out to second for the first out. Blackburn again gets Teixiera, who I remind you was 6-6 off Blackburn entering the day, to pop out to shallow right...although Nick Punto inexplicably ends up making the play. Two up and two down for the Yanks.
And Alex Rodriguez grounds out softly to first. Blackburn has retired the last 7 batters. After 4, we're still scoreless.
TOP OF THE FIFTH:Pitch counts entering in the inning: Blackburn - 56; Burnett - 52.
Nick Punto takes the first two pitches of his at bat, but then strikes out looking on a back door slider. One out.
Denard Span comes to the plate with one out and nobody on base, and he immediately falls behind 0-2. Span works two balls out of Burnett, but grounds out weakly to first. Two out.
Nice at bat from Orlando Cabrera, who draws a six pitch walk. Joe Mauer comes to the plate with two out and a man on first base.
Mauer works the count to 3-0 and walks on five pitches. Jason Kubel, who's already struck out 4 times in the series, comes to the plate with two out and men on first and second.
Fucking Kubel. Jason grounds out softly to second base, and the Twins strand another two runners. We're still scoreless.
BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH:And it's confirmed: Burnett has side etchings and is milking a huge dip. Both of which are awesome. I hope A.J. is very successful at his chosen profession.
Nick Blackburn strikes out Hideki Matsui on five pitches, and looks awesome doing it. Blackburn's really looked great tonight.
Blackburn runs the count to 0-2 on Nick Swisher, and Swisher grounds out softly to Blackburn. Two outs and nobody on base for Robinson Cano.
Cano singles on a line drive to center, which breaks up the no-hitter that I hadn't been mentioning because some people who aren't me believe in jinxes and other shit that doesn't exist. Cano's on first with two outs and Melky Cabrera at the plate.
Attaboy, Nick. Blackburn gets Melky Cabrera swinging on a breaking ball. We're scoreless through five.
TOP OF THE SIXTH:On the first pitch of his at bat, Cuddy grounds out to first. My HS baseball coach used to tell us that batting average on first pitches was .188, so we shouldn't swing at the first pitch. I'm not sure if this was actually true, but whenever someone makes an out on the first pitch, I think of my HS coach yelling ".188!" at someone who swung at the first pitch and made an out.
Delmon Young works a walk, and A.J.'s up to five walks. But, if anything, he's been what one would call "effectively wild," as the Twins haven't really had any hard hit balls off him yet.
Remember, Burnett is the guy who threw a no hitter while walking nine men and hitting a batter. Just because he's putting runners on base via walk doesn't mean he's going to give up a ton of runs.
Gomez strikes out swinging on a slider inside, but Delmon Young steals second on the swinging strike. With two out, Matt Tolbert comes to the plate with Delmon Young on second.
Wait: Brendan Harris is hitting for Matt Tolbert. Why? That doesn't make a goddamn bit of sense. Harris doesn't hit righties well and Tolbert singled in his last at bat against Burnett. Why not stick with the lefty-righty matchup?
And that's why Gardy didn't stick with the lefty-righty matchup. Brendan Harris triples to left center, giving the Twins a 1-0 lead. Inexplicably. The numbers still favored Tolbert over Harris, but hey, they'll take it.
Punto grounds out, and that's the inning. With the Twins leading 1-0, we head to the bottom of the sixth.
BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH:Jorge Posada comes off the bench to pinch hit for Jose Molina. Burnett's thrown 95 pitches, so maybe this means he's done, too.
Oh, that was close. Posada flies out to the warning track in left center, but Gomez tracks it down. One out.
After Brendan Harris makes what was a very smart play by fielding a dribbler while it's foul, Captain Yankee hits a ball to center field that goes over the head of Gomez and into the bullpen for a ground rule double. The Yanks have a man on second with one out and Johnny Damon at the plate.
Oh, shit. Damon narrowly misses what would have been an extra base hit down the right field line. Blackburn narrowly misses on a 2-2 fastball up in the zone. But after working the count to 3-2, Damon draws a walk. Rick Anderson will come out to calm down Nick Blackburn.
Blackburn needs to be really careful here. Just keep the ball down in the zone and throw strikes. If the Yanks are going to beat you, make them hit the ball - don't give them free passes. You can't afford to walk people against the Yanks.
FUCKING SHIT, THAT WAS CLOSE. On a 2-0 count, Blackburn leaves a ball up and Teixiera narrowly misses a three run home run, as he pulls it just foul of the right field foul pole.
And Blackburn gets Teixiera to pop up to shallow left. Great job by Blackburn to come back from a 2-0 count and get Teixiera for the second out.
Alex Rodriguez comes to the plate with two men on and two out. Hoo boy. A weak groundout would be nice, if for no other reason than to see dipshits in the N.Y. media once again call A-Rod a choker who should be traded.
A-Rod lines a base hit between shortstop and third base. A fine piece of hitting. Jeter, running on contact, comes around to score without much of a throw from Delmon. Nick Blackburn exits the game after 92 pitches.
Coming in to pitch for Minnesota: Lefty Ron Mahay, who'll face the lefty Hideki Matsui.
Mahay does his job, getting Matsui to ground out weakly to first base. At the end of six, we're tied at 1.
TOP OF THE SEVENTH:Joba Chamberlain comes on for the Yanks, and in a battle of the bullpen, New York has to like their chances.
Denard Span and Orlando Cabrera both ground out to the left side of the infield. Joe Mauer comes up with nobody on and two out.
And with two outs, Mauer singles on a hard hit ball up the middle. Surprisingly, that will be all for Joba. Not sure I understand that move from Girardi - Chamberlain would have a day to rest, so there's no harm in letting him finish out the inning. But okay, Joe.
Lefty Phil Coke comes on for the Yankees. I again remind you of
Kubel's drastic splits and how he essentially turns into Carlos Gomez against LHP. So, actually, bringing in Coke is a smart move by Girardi.
Also, we now get clarification that Tolbert left the game due to an injured back. Presumably, Gardy didn't lift Tolbert because he thought Harris was a better option against Burnett, but because Tolbert was hurt. Which makes much more sense.
And Kubel strikes out. Again. Chip Carey informs us the Twins have stranded a runner in EVERY INNING of this game. That's not a recipe for success.
BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH:Jon Rauch comes into the game for Minnesota, and he'll start the inning with Nick Swisher.
Swisher hits the ball hard, but it's right at Nick Punto. Punto throws to first well in time, and the Twins have one out.
Cano also hits the ball hard, but, this time, Denard Span tracks the ball down in right field. Two out with nobody on and Melky Cabrera coming to the plate.
And Rauch closes out the inning by getting Melky Cabrera to line out to left. Nice work from Rauch, and we head to the top of the eighth.
TOP OF THE EIGHTH:Phil Hughes comes on for the Yanks. Cuddyer, Young, and Gomez are due up for the Twins.
Ah. Balls. Cuddy pops up to shallow right. One out for Delmon.
Delmon strikes out on a slider that dives away from him. Two outs for Koo-Koo Gomez.
Gomez does a great job working the count to 3-2 and eventually draws the walk. Gomez is aboard with two outs. And now would be a great time to have Gomez attempt to steal in order to get into scoring position. There's two outs, a righty is on the hill, and Jorge Posada is behind the plate. Make a run for it, Carlos.
Gomez takes off running and Harris slaps an outside fastball for a single to right field. Gomez takes third, and Minnesota has runners at the corners with two outs. Harris is 2-2 today and has done a great job coming off the bench for the injured Tolbert.
Nick Punto comes to the plate with two men on and two out. Nick Punto as the hero would be kind of fun, like David Eckstein as the World Series MVP was kind of fun. And by kind of, I mean not at all.
GAHAHAHAHA PUNTOWNED. Nick fucking Punto singles to center field, Gomez scores, and the Twins have the lead.
Phil Hughes is done for the evening; after giving up a possible GW hit to Nick Punto, he's lucky he wasn't given the same treatment as a race horse who breaks his leg during a race. Mariano Rivera will come on for the Yankees.
Hey now, Denard Span coming up huge. Span fists a ball up the middle, and it's hit softly enough that Brendan Harris comes around easily.
Orlando Cabrera comes to the plate with two on and two out. Cabrera strikes out swinging, but the Twins head to the bottom of the eighth with a 3-1 lead.
BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH:Of course, Chip has reminded us of all the times the Yanks have come back against the Twins this year. Thanks, dickwad.
Matt Guerrier comes on for the Twins. He'll face Posada, Jeter, and Damon this inning.
Oooooh nice pitch from Guerrier. Posada strikes out on a backdoor curveball from Guerrier. One down for Derek Jeter.
Wow. Brendan Harris saves an extra base hit, as he makes a diving stop on a hard hit ball down the third base line. Harris, 2-2 with a 3B, an RBI, and a web gem, has been the star of tonight's game for the Twins. Two out and nobody on for Johnny Damon.
Damon breaks his bat on a groundout to second. That's the inning. We head to the ninth with the Twins holding a 3-1 lead.
TOP OF THE NINTH:If someone threw me out of a party for not bringing avocados, I'd punch them in the dick. Avocados taste worse than the Holocaust.
Mauer, Kubel, and Cuddyer are due up this inning. They'll face Mariano Rivera, who stays on for the ninth.
Mauer goes down swinging. Kubel, who already's won a golden sombrero tonight, strikes out AGAIN. Kubes is 0-9 with 6 K's in the series.
Cuddyer bloops a single to right, which probably won't do much more than give Joe Nathan more time to warm up. But, hey, maybe Delmon will make something happen.
Delmon pushes a softly hit ball to right field, but Swisher makes a sliding catch for the third out. Joe Nathan will come on with the chance to close out the game and even up the series.
BOTTOM OF THE NINTH:Nathan will face Teixiera, A-Rod, and Matsui in the ninth. He'll have to work for this save.
Motherfucker. Teixiera ropes a single to right on a 1-1 pitch. With nobody out, the tying run will come to the plate.
Nathan runs the count to 3-0 on Rodriguez. He's relying on his breaking ball, and he's thrown one in the dirt and badly missed with the other two. He seems to be nibbling and not trusting his stuff.
Nathan comes back with a strike at the knees just as Chip AGAIN reminds us of the Yanks' 3 consecutive walk off wins over the Twins last may.
Shit. Of all fucking people. It couldn't have been someone likeable, like, say, Nick Swisher?
A-Rod hits a no-doubt homer to center field on a 3-1 pitch. We're tied at 3 with nobody out. Hideki Matsui is due up.
Nathan leaves a curveball up, but Matsui harmlessly pops out to shortstop. One out, with nobody on base.
Nathan is laboring. He's not throwing his fastball much, instead choosing to attack the Yankee hitters with his breaking stuff. This isn't the best strategy against a Yankee team that walks alot and doesn't chase pitches outside the strike zone.
HOLY FUCK. Nick Swisher hits a ball pretty goddamn hard, but Gomez tracks it down at the warning track. Another 10 feet and it's game over. Two out, nobody on, and Robinson Cano is due up.
Cano grounds out to shortstop. Nathan's out of the inning, but the damage is done. We're all tied up and headed to extras.
TOP OF THE TENTH:Alfredo Aveces is on for the Yanks, and he'll face the bottom of the order for Minnesota.
Gomez tries to get on via bunting. It doesn't work, and Gomez ends up striking out looking on a curveball outside. One out for Brendan Harris, who's been Minnesota's most effective hitter tonight.
Harris again hits the ball reasonably hard, but Melky Cabrera glides under it in center field. Two out and nobody on for PUNTOWNED.
Nice at bat from Nicholas L.M. Punto IV. He draws a six pitch walk, and Denard Span will come to the plate with two out and Punto on first. Punto could, and probably should, be running here.
MY MAN. Denard Span strokes a single to right; Punto was running on the 3-2 pitch, and he makes it to third. The Twins have runners at the corners with two out. Orlando Cabrera will be charged with bringing in the go-ahead run.
Well, that was disappointing. Cabrera weakly flies out to right. We'll head to the bottom of the tenth with the score knotted at 3.
BOTTOM OF THE TENTH:Nathan will stay in for the Twins. He'll face Melky, Posada, and Jeter.
Oh, wow. Nice play by Orlando Cabrera. Melky hit a hot shot to SS, and the ball took a nasty late hop, but Cabrera kept the ball in front of him and fielded it relatively cleanly and in time to throw out Melky. One down.
Ah, that's gayer than Kordell Stewart. Posada hits a broken bat bloop shot that falls in front of Carlos Gomez. Brett Gardner will pinch run for Posada, meaning two things: 1). Gardner's probably going to be on the move and 2). Francisco Cervelli will catch the rest of the game for N.Y.
Gardner takes second base on a 1-1 count. Mauer's throw was high, but he had no chance to throw out Gardner. That's on Nathan, who did a shitty job holding Gardner; with the jump Gardner had, no catcher was throwing him out.
Goddamn. When Joe Nathan melts down, Joe Nathan MELTS DOWN. Even Brad Lidge thinks this is a bit excessive.
Nathan tries to pick off Gardner at second, but throws the ball into center field. The throw was nowhere close to the bag. Gardner advances to third, and the Twins will intentionally walk Jeter to set up the double play. New York will have runners at the corner with one out and Johnny Damon coming to hit.
Lefty Jose Mijares will come on to face Damon and Mark Teixiera.
Damon works the count to 3-2 and...hey. THAT WAS FUCKING NICE.
Damon hits a lined shot up the middle, but it's caught by Orlando Cabrera. Brett Gardner ran on contact and he's doubled off third. The Twins escape the 10th without losing. We'll head to the 11th, still tied at 3.
TOP OF THE ELEVENTH:I refuse to believe that "Francisco Cervelli" is the real name of a real person. That has to be a fictional, highly stereotypical name of a middle-aged Italian immigrant short-order cook in an HBO special.
The Twins will have Mauer, Kubel, and Cuddy due up this inning. Damaso Marte, who, to be generous, sucks, will come on for the Yankees. If the Twins are going to take the lead, now is the time.
Well, Mauer just got fucked. Joe slices a ball down the line, and it's clearly fair and should be ruled a double, but the ump misses the call and rules it foul. Balls.
Of course, the erroneous (on all counts) call doesn't phase Mauer one bit. Joe singles up the middle. The Twins have a man on first and nobody out for Jason Kubel, who's looking to avoid striking out for the fifth time this game.
And avoid striking out for a fifth time he does. Kubel sharply singles to right, giving the Twins men on first and second with nobody out. Damaso Marte will depart for the evening, and he leaves to a chorus of boos.
David Robertson, who sounds like a deputy on a cop procedural, will come on for the Yanks. Michael Cuddyer will have a chance to give the Twins the lead.
CUDDY! Cuddyer singles up the middle, but hits the ball too hard for Mauer to score. The Twins have the bases loaded with nobody out. Yankee Stadium is awfully quiet.
Damn. Delmon stings the ball toward the first base line, but it's right at Mark Teixiera. One out. Koo-Koo will come to the plate.
Gomez, like Young, swings at the first pitch (why?) and grounds to the right side. Teixiera comes home for the force out. Two down for Brendan Harris, who, again, has hit the ball well tonight.
Harris doesn't swing at the first pitch. LORDY, IT'S A MIRACLE.
Motherfucking fuckitty fuck. Harris hits a lazy fly ball to center field, which Gardner is able to drift under and put away. Minnesota strands another three runners, bringing their total for the night to 17 left on base.
BOTTOM OF THE ELEVENTH:Jose Mijares will stay on for the Twins. He'll face Teixiera and probably depart after that.
Well, it looks like we'll all depart after that.
On the fourth pitch of the at bat, Teixiera drills a line drive down the left field line, and the ball glances off the top of the wall and is ruled a home run. One foot lower and that's a double. But it had just enough, and the Yanks will walk this off.
After another walk-off loss in New York, Minnesota limps home down 2-0. Carl Pavano will face Andy Pettitte on Sunday. Pavano will be tasked with keeping the Twins' season alive long enough for AJR to attend a playoff game.
Come back Sunday at 3:30; we'll be live blogging Game 3. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
1.) Florida (7-0)
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