OJTB: New York Yankees survive against Minnesota Twins to take series

Good Start saved the day

The Yankees exploded early on Sunday afternoon before holding their breath late. New York (44-43) took a 9-0 fourth-inning lead over the Minnesota Twins and withstood a furious rally by Minnesota (39-48) for a 9-7 triumph.

SS Derek Jeter enjoyed a solid Sunday outing, while being officially named to the 2014 All-Star Game, later in the day. The Yankees won three of the four games in the series.

The Bombers wasted little time in crushing RHP Ricky Nolasco, who entered the game with a major league-worst 5.49 ERA. Nolasco (5-7; 5.90 ERA) surrendered six runs on seven hits and one walk over two innings. Five of the nine Yankees’ starters enjoyed multi-hit games. SS Derek Jeter and CF Jacoby Ellsbury were especially critical to New York’s onslaught. Jeter finished 3-4 with two RBI, while Ellsbury went 2-5 with four RBI.

The Yankees’ pitching wasn’t as impressive as the offense on the day. Despite holding a 9-0 lead, RHP Hiroki Kuroda labored, throwing 105 pitches through 5.2 innings. Kuroda (6-6; 4.20 ERA) surrendered four runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out three. Four of the seven hits came in succession with two outs in the fourth inning. Each of New York’s three relievers allowed one run.

Brian McCann

The Yankees took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. With two on and one out, 1B Mark Teixeira lined a RBI single to left field, and C Brian McCann drilled a RBI double off the centerfield wall. Good defense by the Twins mitigated the damage, though. CF Sam Fuld robbed Ellsbury of an extra-base hit with a leaping catch against the wall, and Teixeira was thrown out at home plate as the trail runner on McCann’s double.

New York extended its edge to 6-0 in the second inning. After loading the bases with nobody out, Jeter hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield for a 3-0 lead. Ellsbury finished the rally with a three-run homerun to right.

The Twins pulled to within 9-4 in the bottom of the fourth inning. LF Josh Willingham worked a one-out walk, moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a throwing error by Kuroda. RF Oswaldo Arcia was thrown out at second base after the error, but the Twins were far from finished. C Kurt Suzuki and 3B Trevor Plouffe laced consecutive doubles before DH Chris Colabello culminated the rally with a two-run homerun into the left field bullpen.

Minnesota continued to chip away throughout the remainder of the contest. 1B Chris Parmelee’s RBI groundout against RHP Adam Warren cut New York’s lead to 9-5 in the seventh inning. One inning later, Plouffe brought the home team to within 9-6 with a solo dinger off RHP Jim Miller. Arcia drove in Minnesota’s seventh run against RHP David Robertson in the bottom of the ninth, but New York’s closer induced a 6-4 force from Suzuki to end the game.

Notes:

1) The Yankees designated OF Alfonso Soriano for assignment. Arguably the Bombers’ best player last season after being acquired from the Chicago Cubs, Soriano struggled mightily in 2014, batting only .221 with six homeruns over 67 games. RHP Bruce Billings was called up from AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take Soriano’s spot on the roster.

2) New York traded LHP Vidal Nuno to the Arizona Diamondbacks for veteran RHP Brandon McCarthy. McCarthy (3-10; 5.01 ERA) will replace Nuno in the Yankees’ starting rotation.

3) The win snapped a nine-game weekend losing streak for the Yankees. The skid represented New York’s longest such slide since the 1909 Highlanders, the organization’s former moniker, suffered an identical nine-game weekend losing streak between June 26, 1909 and July 24, 1909.

4) The win afforded the Yankees a 4-3 season-series victory over the Twins. The Yankees haven’t dropped a season series to Minnesota since 2001.

The Yankees will begin a four-game set at Cleveland on Monday night.