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 Bird became the third Yankee since 1914 with a multi-home-run game
within his first five major-league games.
"It was a good day," said Bird, who is filling in for the injured
Mark Teixeira. "We're just trying to win games here.
"Anything I can do to help. That's all I'm trying to do, nothing
more, nothing less."
Bird's performance helped the Yankees win for the sixth time in
seven games since last Thursday after he was recalled from Triple-A
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and made his debut in an 8-6 win at Cleveland.
Bird connected on a 0-1 changeup off Ervin Santana (2-4) in the
fourth inning and sent it to the second deck in right field.
Two innings later, Bird drove a 1-0 fastball into the Yankees'
bullpen beyond the center field wall.
The second home run earned the 22-year-old a curtain call from the
38,086 fans at Yankee Stadium after he was urged out off the dugout
by right fielder Carlos Beltran.
Bird's first career home run was actually a subplot at the time
because Eovaldi (13-2) retired the first 12 hitters on 56 pitches.
He retired four more before losing his perfect-game bid with one out
in the sixth when catcher Chris Herrmann blooped a 101 mph fastball
behind third baseman Chase Headley and into shallow left field.
"It came in so fast," Herrmann said of the pitch that he managed to
connect with. "By the time I swung, I was starting my swing, the
ball was already in the catcher's glove, it seems like."
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Herrmann's single actually began a three-run inning for Minnesota
with Joe Mauer driving in two runs, while Trevor Plouffe drove in
another with a single.
"I felt really good today," Eovaldi said after allowing three runs
and four hits in seven innings.
"I felt locked in from the first pitch. I'm aware of it but just try
to go out there and stay aggressive and keep attacking the hitters."
Santana lost his fourth successive decision and allowed the two home
runs among seven hits in 7-2/3 innings.
"To me, it was only one bad pitch. It was the changeup, that's it,"
Santana said of Bird's first homer.
"The other one was a very good pitch. He hit it very good. I know
probably in another park, that's a double.
"Here, it's a joke."
(Compiled by Greg Stutchbury)
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