A-Rod comes up grand in win vs. Twins

It looked as though the Yankees had let the Twins’ M&M brothers  beat them in the seventh inning, but Alex Rodriguez countered in the home half with his 19th career grand slam to pass Frank Robinson on the all-time home run list and lead the Yankees to an 8-4 win.

Quick ‘Cap:
After allowing a run in the second inning, A.J. Burnett escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam with no more damage. The Yankees tied and took the lead in the fourth on Brett Gardner’s second homer of the year and Robinson Cano’s RBI ground-rule double.

Joe Mauer’s solo shot in the fifth tied it up again, but Mark Teixeira answered in the bottom of the frame with an RBI double to regain the lead, 3-2. Joe Girardi switched out Burnett when he reached 100 pitches in the seventh inning to give Damaso Marte a shot against Mauer and Justin Morneau. But he didn’t retire either of them, as both scorched run-scoring hits to center to take a 4-3 lead.

A-Rod’s slam came with one out off pitcher Matt Guerrier, who had allowed three homers and four hits in six previous at-bats to A-Rod. Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera pitched the final two innings to wrap up the win. Twins-Yankees box score.

Thoughts:
The key to this game was the middle of the lineup waking up and coming together. Nos. 2-5 combined for 8-for-15 with seven RBIs and five runs.

Oh, and I’m not forgetting about Francisco Cervelli, who improved his numbers with runners in scoring position to an unbelievable 10-for-13 after he tripled home Juan Miranda in the eighth. Cervelli is hitting .415 on the year. Amazing.

Line of the Night:
Chamberlain: W, IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K. He has struck out seven of the last 10 hitters he’s faced over three games. And he’s made them all look foolish.

Up Next:
The Yankees look to make it 12 straight regular season wins against the Twins on Saturday. It’s going to be a great matchup of lefties too: Francisco Liriano and Andy Pettitte.