Yanks top Twins 7-6 behind huge first inning

The Yankees hitters batted around in the first inning against Twins starter Glen Perkins scoring six runs in the process.  The Yanks (21-17) would only need one more run to sweep the Twins (18-21) in the four-game series.  That marks six straight victories for the Bronx Bombers.

Quick ‘Cap: 

Before the Yankees enjoyed teeing off against Perkins, Andy Pettitte had to make it through the top of the first, which wasn’t easy.  Both of the new M&M boys (not Mantle and Maris) came up with run-scoring singles to give the Twins the early 2-0 lead.

Perkins allowed singles to Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon, and then back-to-back homers to Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez.  But the Yankees’ bats wouldn’t let up.  Robinson Cano hit a ground-rule double, and Melky Cabrera scored him on a single.  After a passed ball, Francisco Cervelli drove in the Melk-man.  Cervelli was the last batter Perkins faced, and the Twins escaped further damage.

As usual, Pettitte had no easy innings, but he was able to get out of most of them.  He gave up a long homer to Michael Cuddyer in the fourth, and another run in the sixth.

Teixeira led off the seventh with his second homer of the game to provide the Yanks with some much needed insurance.  Both Edwar Ramirez and Phil Coke gave up one run in the eighth and ninth, but the Twins fell short by just one run.  Full box score here.

Thoughts: 

The streak of walk-off wins had to come to an end, but the winning streak did not.  Every Yankee had at least one hit, and five of them had two.  Their lineup top to bottom is getting stronger by the day, which is a great sign.  Keep in mind, they are on a six-game winning streak, but four of them have come against a team that has never had success in the Bronx.

Noteworthy Performances: 

- I can’t say enough about Teixeira’s hot hitting.  During this winning streak, Tex is batting .458 with 11 RBI.

Up Next: 

The Yankees will continue their homestand against the Orioles on Tuesday.  The big lefty CC Sabathia (3-3, 3.70) will square off against Brad Bergesen (1-1, 5.27) at 7:05 p.m.