Yankees Get Second Straight Victory in Minnesota

nypost.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

July 2^nd, 2013

New York Yankees vs Minnesota Twins Post Game Recap

Final Score: Yankees 7 Twins 3

The New York Yankees were able to win their second straight game against the Minnesota Twins with a 7-3 victory on Tuesday night. The win moves the Yankees to (44-39), but are still in fourth place in the AL East, six games behind the Boston Red Sox for first place.

The good Phil Hughes showed up in Minnesota, as the trend of him pitching better in the bigger ballparks continues, and he even didn’t allow a homerun in the win on Tuesday night. Hughes got his fourth win of the season, by going seven innings allowing just one run on six hits and two walks. The only blemish for Hughes came in the third inning when Joe Mauer had a RBI single that scored Aaron Hicks.

Scott Deduno got the start for the Twins, but despite pitching pretty well earned his third loss of the season. Four scoreless innings the Yankees offense finally got to Deduno in the fifth inning, as an Alberto Gonzalez RBI double got the Yankees on the board, scoring Lyle Overbay and David Adams. Gonzalez would be able to score the Yankees third run of the game on an infield single by Ichiro Suzuki. Deduno would pitch a scoreless sixth inning, and finished going six innings allowing three runs on five hits and one walk.

The Twins bullpen let them down once again, as Anthony Swarzak got lit up in the seventh inning. Gonzalez would get his second hit of the day to score Adams on a base-hit, and a few batters later Robinson Cano would smack a three-run home run to make it a 7-1 Yankee lead. For Cano it is his 20^th home run of the year, it his fourth home run in the last three games.

Preston Claiborne got the call to try and finish up the final two innings with a six-run lead, but ran into problems in the ninth innings, as Brian Dozier hit a two-run double to make it 7-3, and Joe Girardi pulled Claiborne for Adam Warren. Warren would then promptly walk Joe Mauer, and Joe Girardi would get some more exercise walking out to the mound to pull Warren for Mariano Rivera, who used just two pitches to get a ground out and his 27^th save of the season.

Game 3 of the series will be on Wednesday night, as C.C. Sabathia (8-6, 4.15) will look to get the Yankees the series win against Twins Starter P.J. Walters (2-4, 6.03).