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 On Friday night at Target Field, the Minnesota Twins looked the
part. They belted four home runs and got a sterling performance on
the mound from Phil Hughes in a 10-1 win over the Yankees.
Hughes, a former Yankee, pitched seven shutout innings, scattering
seven hits (all singles) and walking none while striking out three.
For Hughes (9-6), who won 16 games a year ago and finished with a
3.52 ERA, it's the first time this season he completed a start with
his ERA below 4 at 3.93.
"I tried to attack with my fastball (early) and got a couple of
breaks. They were hitting the ball pretty hard early and I was able
to get some outs out of them," Hughes said. "So I tried to
incorporate more curveballs, changeups, cutters, anything I could to
get them off balance. As the innings progressed, it seemed to work
pretty well."
Minnesota provided Hughes with the support he needed in the early
going against Yankees right-hander Michael Pineda, scoring two runs
apiece in the first and fourth innings and a single run in the
second.
Twins right fielder Torii Hunter had two hits, including a solo home
run in the seventh inning. It was his 207th home run in a Twins
uniform, tying him with Hall-of-Famer Kirby Puckett for sixth on the
club's career list.
"That's a guy, early in my career, he gave me a lot," Hunter said.
"Just to be mentioned as far as home runs, to tie him, is a special
day for me. I always think about him and today I'm really thinking
about him. It's emotional."
Third baseman Trevor Plouffe and left fielder Eddie Rosario had
three hits apiece for Minnesota. Plouffe finished a triple short of
the cycle and scored two runs. Rosario had three doubles, the first
Twin with three two-base hits in the same game since Josmil Pinto in
September 2013.
Minnesota, which opened a nine-game homestand, has the best home
record in the American League and moved five games clear of the
Detroit Tigers for second place in the AL Central, 5 1/2 games
behind the division-leading Kansas City Royals.
"Guys have been really playing well at home," Twins manager Paul
Molitor said. "Just getting off to a good start tonight was a good
way to start a long homestand for us."
Pineda (9-7) took the loss, allowing five earned runs and eight hits
in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out four and walked none, dropping to
1-4 in his last five decisions since June 22.
"The first couple of innings, I made a couple of mistakes with my
slider," Pineda said. "That's going to happen when you make a
mistake."
The Twins got their offense going early, taking a 2-0 lead in the
first inning against Pineda.
A one-out single by Hunter set up designated hitter Miguel Sano, who
blasted a 3-2 off-speed pitch over the wall in center field for his
third homer of the season.
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Rosario was credited with a double after a popup into shallow left
field bounced off the glove of Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius to
lead off the second. He scampered home two batters later when
catcher Kurt Suzuki hit a sharp single up the middle.
Minnesota tacked on two runs against Pineda in the fourth for a 5-0
lead, getting a leadoff single from Plouffe and another double by
Rosario, this one down the right-field line. Center fielder Aaron
Hicks drove in Plouffe with a sacrifice fly to right and Suzuki
ripped his second RBI single of the night into center field.
"(Pineda) made some mistakes with his fastball," Yankees manager Joe
Girardi said. "He didn't locate well. It was a combination of
things. Sometimes your stuff just isn't as sharp for whatever reason
and tonight it wasn't."
Hunter's solo blast made it 6-0 in the seventh ahead of the knockout
blow, a four-run eighth highlighted by Plouffe's solo blast to lead
off the inning, an RBI single by Hicks and a two-out, two-run shot
by second baseman Brian Dozier, his 21st homer of the year.
New York scored its run in the ninth against right-hander Casey Fien
on a sacrifice fly by center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury. The run was
unearned and came after an error by Rosario allowed Gregorius to
advance to second base on his one-out single.
"I thought we hit the ball a lot better than one run," Girardi said.
"We hit the ball pretty hard. They just happened to be standing
where we hit them."
NOTES: The Yankees were a season-best 12 games above .500 before
Friday night's loss. ... The loss was just New York's second in its
last 10 games at Target Field. ... The Twins improved to 8-1 in
their last nine games at Target Field. ... Minnesota improved to
13-4 against American League East opponents this season. ... Twins
OF Byron Buxton began taking dry swings and swinging a bat
underwater as he recovers from a strained thumb. Buxton could take
batting practice this weekend. ... The Yankees and Twins will play
the second game of a three-game series at Target Field on Saturday.
New York's CC Sabathia (4-8, 5.25 ERA) will oppose Minnesota's Tommy
Milone (5-2, 3.38 ERA).
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