Game 12 Wrap-Up: MIN 6 NYY 5

(With a Yankee loss and Ranger loss on the same night, I looked the same way around 10:30 PM.  Courtesy of The AP)

With CC starting to come around in the later innings of start on Tuesday night and Kuroda coming off a gem last Friday, the top of the Yankee rotation appeared to be settling in.  It didn't take long for Kuroda to be unsettled last night.

Game Notes:

- Things should have been looking up for Hiroki Kuroda after his Yankee Stadium debut last Friday, when he was absolutely brilliant.  He was anything but last night and it started immediately in the top of the 1st when he allowed 4 ER on 5 hits against the first 6 batters he faced.

- Kuroda was much better in the 2nd, and in the 4th, but he gave up another run in the 3rd inning and another in the 5th on Justin Morneau's 2nd HR of the game and that was it for Kuroda.  His sinker was absolutely horrible all night; he couldn't get it down at all and the Twins just killed it, Morneau in particular.

- The Yankee offense did their damnedest to keep Kuroda in the game early, scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the 1st and another in the 3rd.  Robinson Cano led the charge, the power in his bat suddenly awakening with a double and a homer in his first 2 at-bats of the game.

- After the Cano HR, the offense never generated many threats the rest of the way.  They had 2 on, 1 out in the bottom of the 7th and couldn't convert, with Nick Swisher striking out to strand Jeter and Teix to end the inning.

- With as poorly as Kuroda pitched, give a call to the bullpen trio of Rapada, Logan, and Soriano for pitching a scoreless 4.2 innings to keep their team in the game.  Logan was really good, striking out 4 in 2 innings.

- Derek Jeter continued to be the best power hitter on the team, hitting a solo HR in the bottom of the 9th to make things interesting.


F*ck Yeahs:

- Cano: 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.  Carried the offensive torch; good to see him hit for some power.

- Jeter: 3-5, HR, 2 R, 1 RBI.  No big deal.  Just Derek Jeter crushing home runs every day.

Oh Nos:

- Kuroda: 4.1 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 4K.  Being this bad was highly unexpected and highly disappointing after his shutdown performance last Friday.

- Curtis Granderson: 0-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K.  Had opportunities to drive in runs and didn't get it done.

Next Up:

Phil Hughes will take the hill tonight, facing off against the immortal Anthony Swarzak as the Yanks look to salvage this series and he looks to get his game going in the right direction before heading to Bahhston this weekend.