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 Luckily, Yankees spot starter Bryan Mitchell only had a nasal
fracture after taking a line drive off his face from Minnesota Twins
shortstop Eduardo Nunez in the second inning.
And fortunate that Chase Headley's ground ball to Nunez was not
fielded cleanly with nobody out in the 10th inning, allowing
pinch-runner Brendan Ryan to score the winning run in the Yankees'
wild 8-7 win over the Twins on Monday night.
"We were fortunate that we able to get that one," Headley said after
his seventh walk-off RBI and third with the Yankees. "It would have
been a tough one to lose."
Yankees catcher Brian McCann said, "Luckily, what could have
happened didn't. We're lucky he got his face out of there. It got
him but it could have got him a lot worse."
Headley wound up driving in the winning run after rookie first
baseman Greg Bird opened the inning against Glen Perkins (1-3) with
a double to right-center field.
McCann, who finished with five RBIs, nearly had the winning hit and
his sixth RBI when his double deflected off left fielder Eddie
Rosario's glove, but Bird stopped at third.
After right fielder Carlos Beltran was intentionally walked, Headley
fell behind Perkins 0-2 as Minnesota used a five-man infield. On the
fifth pitch, Headley slapped a ground ball to Nunez, who did not
field it cleanly and pinch-runner Brendan Ryan scored, ending the
four-hour, 13-minute marathon.
"There's not any excuse," Nunez said. "I have to make that play."
Perkins said, "I thought that was a double play. I didn't work out
that way."
Headley's winning RBI came long after Mitchell exited and was
evaluated at a nearby hospital. The injury appeared worse as
Mitchell fell to the ground and was bleeding. But after a medical
examination, the Yankees said he had a nasal fracture and would be
monitored for a possible concussion.
"That was scary," said New York first baseman Mark Teixeira, who
exited in the sixth with a bruised right lower leg. "You count your
blessing that it wasn't worse."
Yankees manager Joe Girardi said, "It seems like your heart just
drops into your stomach and you're scared for the kid. You see blood
coming out. I was really worried."
The injuries and win came on a night when the Yankees blew leads of
3-0 and 5-4 but rallied from a 7-5 deficit when Beltran slugged a
game-tying home run off Brian Duensing in the sixth. The win also
came three innings after New York left the bases loaded in the
seventh and with six relievers being used.
Andrew Miller (1-2) picked up his first win as a Yankee, striking
out two in the 10th. Miller's appearance came after Dellin Betances
pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Had the score remained tied,
left-hander CC Sabathia would have pitched the 11th.
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The Twins were unable to beat the Yankees for the fifth time in
their last six visits to New York despite collecting 16 hits and
getting a two-run homer from rookie designated hitter Miguel Sano
and solo home runs from center fielder Aaron Hicks and third baseman
Trevor Plouffe.
The Twins had a 7-5 lead when Plouffe's third hit of the night was
an RBI single off Justin Wilson. After the hit, the Twins had one
the rest of the way.
The Yankees opened a 3-0 lead with two outs in the first when McCann
drove a 0-2 fastball from right-hander Kyle Gibson into the right
field seats for his 21st home run of the season.
The Twins scored their first run on Nunez's liner off Mitchell and
added three with one out in the third off Caleb Cotham for a
short-lived 4-3 lead. Sano forged a 3-3 tie with his eighth home run
and three batters later Rosario blooped a single.
After Rosario made two defensive plays by throwing out center
fielder Jacoby Ellsbury at the plate and making a sliding catch on a
sinking liner Teixeira, the Yankees took a 5-4 lead when McCann hit
a two-run single with two outs in the third.
Minnesota tied the score a second time when Hicks opened the fourth
with his eighth home run of the year. The Twins took their second
one-run lead when Plouffe opened the fifth with his 18th home run
this season.
NOTES: New York manager Joe Girardi said he found out Monday from
LHP CC Sabathia about his near fight outside a Toronto nightclub
over the weekend. Girardi did not offer any comment or say whether
Sabathia would face any disciplinary action from the team. ...
Minnesota manager Paul Molitor said he found out about New York
changing its rotation Sunday, and it allowed him extra time to
prepare for RHP Bryan Mitchell on the plane. ... New York RHP
Michael Pineda (right forearm) said he felt fine after throwing 45
pitches in a rehab game for Double-A Trenton on Sunday. The Yankees
have not decided what's next for Pineda, though another rehab game
is likely. ... Minnesota OF Byron Buxton was named the International
League Player of the Week after batting .400 in eight games for
Triple-A Rochester.
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