GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: MINNESOTA (43-40) at NY YANKEES (39-42)

AL: MINNESOTA at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">AL AT NY YANKEES - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: H Matsui in left field.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: MINNESOTA 5
NY YANKEES 7 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: L Rodriguez (.176, 0-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">AL AT NY YANKEES - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: J Kubel hit for N Punto.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, L RODRIGUEZ ON FIRST, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: MINNESOTA 5
NY YANKEES 7 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: J Kubel (.242, 6 HR, 30 RBI)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">AL AT NY YANKEES - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: J Tyner ran for J Kubel.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, J TYNER ON FIRST, L RODRIGUEZ ON THIRD, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: MINNESOTA 5
NY YANKEES 7 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: J Bartlett (.255, 1-FOR-3, 2 RBI)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">AL AT NY YANKEES - SCORING UPDATE
GROUND OUT BY JOE MAUER SCORED LUIS RODRIGUEZ.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, J TYNER ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: MINNESOTA 6
NY YANKEES 7 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: M CUDDYER (.281, 1-FOR-3, BB, RBI)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
MINNESOTA 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 6 10 0
NY YANKEES 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 2 x 7 13 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: MIN - KEVIN SLOWEY, DENNYS REYES (4TH), MATT GUERRIER (6TH), PAT
NESHEK (8TH) AND JOE MAUER

NYY - KEI IGAWA, LUIS VIZCAINO (6TH), SCOTT PROCTOR
(7TH), KYLE FARNSWORTH (8TH), MARIANO RIVERA (9TH), MARIANO
RIVERA (9TH) AND JORGE POSADA

HOME RUNS: MIN - NONE

NYY - ROBINSON CANO (5) OFF KEVIN SLOWEY IN THE 2ND, 0 ON
MELKY CABRERA (4) OFF KEVIN SLOWEY IN THE 2ND, 2 ON
HIDEKI MATSUI (10) OFF PAT NESHEK IN THE 8TH, 1 ON</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
MINNESOTA 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 6 10 0
NY YANKEES 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 2 x 7 13 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: MIN - KEVIN SLOWEY, DENNYS REYES (4TH), MATT GUERRIER (6TH), PAT
NESHEK (8TH) AND JOE MAUER

NYY - KEI IGAWA, LUIS VIZCAINO (6TH), SCOTT PROCTOR
(7TH), KYLE FARNSWORTH (8TH), MARIANO RIVERA (9TH), MARIANO
RIVERA (9TH) AND JORGE POSADA


WP - KYLE FARNSWORTH (1-1)
LP - PAT NESHEK (3-1)
SAVE - MARIANO RIVERA (11)

HOME RUNS: MIN - NONE

NYY - ROBINSON CANO (5) OFF KEVIN SLOWEY IN THE 2ND, 0 ON
MELKY CABRERA (4) OFF KEVIN SLOWEY IN THE 2ND, 2 ON
HIDEKI MATSUI (10) OFF PAT NESHEK IN THE 8TH, 1 ON


TIME: 3:32 ATT: 52,471

PROBABLES: LAA - BARTOLO COLON (6-4, 5.79)
NYY - ANDY PETTITTE (4-6, 3.77)

PROBABLES: MIN - SCOTT BAKER (2-3, 4.98) & MIN - MATT GARZA (0-0, 0.00)
CHA - JON GARLAND (6-5, 3.15) & CHA - NICK MASSET (2-3, 6.95)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">MINNESOTA (6) VS NY YANKEES (7) - FINAL

MINNESOTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Bartlett ss 4 2 1 2 1 2 3 .254
J Mauer c 4 1 2 2 1 0 1 .302
M Cuddyer rf 4 0 1 1 1 1 3 .280
J Morneau 1b 4 0 1 1 0 0 1 .283
T Hunter cf 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .295
J Cirillo dh 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 .273
L Ford lf 4 0 0 0 0 3 2 .236
L Rodriguez 3b 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 .185
N Punto 2b 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 .205
a-J Kubel ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .246
J Tyner pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .279

Totals 35 6 10 6 4 8 13

a-singled to center for N Punto in the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - J Cirillo (7, K Igawa); J Bartlett (11, K Igawa). RBI - M Cuddyer
(52), J Morneau (63), J Bartlett 2 (23), J Mauer 2 (32). 2-out RBI - J Bartlett
2, J Mauer. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Cuddyer 1, T Hunter 1,
L Ford 1. GIDP - J Morneau. Team LOB - 6.

BASERUNNING: SB - J Tyner (6, 2nd base off M Rivera/J Posada).


NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Damon cf 4 1 1 0 1 1 0 .249
M Rivera p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
M Cabrera lf-cf 5 1 3 3 0 1 1 .272
D Jeter ss 3 1 1 0 2 0 2 .341
H Matsui dh-lf 5 1 2 2 0 1 4 .273
J Posada c 5 0 0 0 0 1 2 .324
B Abreu rf 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .260
R Cano 2b 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 .270
A Phillips 1b 3 1 2 0 1 0 1 .286
M Cairo 3b 4 1 1 1 0 2 3 .244

Totals 37 7 13 7 4 7 13

BATTING: 2B - A Phillips (2, K Slowey); M Cairo (5, K Slowey); B Abreu (15, K
Slowey). HR - R Cano (5, 2nd inning off K Slowey 0 on, 2 Out), M Cabrera (4,
2nd inning off K Slowey 2 on, 2 Out), H Matsui (10, 8th inning off P Neshek 1
on, 2 Out). RBI - R Cano (36), M Cairo (6), M Cabrera 3 (30), H Matsui 2 (49).
2-out RBI - R Cano, M Cairo, M Cabrera 3, H Matsui 2. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - A Phillips 1, J Posada 1, M Cairo 1, H Matsui 2. Team LOB -
10.

FIELDING: Outfield assists - M Cabrera (M Cuddyer at 2nd base). DP: 1 (R
Cano-D Jeter-A Phillips).


----------------------------------------------------
MINNESOTA - 200 300 001 -- 6
NY YANKEES - 050 000 02x -- 7
----------------------------------------------------

MINNESOTA ip h r er bb so hr era
K Slowey 3 2/3 8 5 5 2 2 2 5.84
D Reyes 1 2/3 2 0 0 1 2 0 4.12
M Guerrier 1 2/3 2 0 0 0 1 0 1.76
P Neshek (L, 3-1) 1 1 2 2 1 2 1 1.74

NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era
K Igawa 5 7 5 5 3 3 0 7.14
L Vizcaino 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 5.27
S Proctor 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3.80
K Farnsworth (W, 1-1) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.59
M Rivera (S, 11) 1 2 1 1 0 2 0 3.94

WP - K Slowey, K Igawa, D Reyes. Pitches-strikes: K Slowey 91-60; D Reyes
30-20; M Guerrier 28-15; P Neshek 21-11; K Igawa 97-62; L Vizcaino 14-10; S
Proctor 14-9; K Farnsworth 17-12; M Rivera 24-17. Ground balls-fly balls: K
Slowey 3-6; D Reyes 1-2; M Guerrier 0-4; P Neshek 1-0; K Igawa 3-8; L Vizcaino
1-0; S Proctor 2-1; K Farnsworth 0-2; M Rivera 1-0. Batters faced: K Slowey 21;
D Reyes 8; M Guerrier 7; P Neshek 5; K Igawa 24; L Vizcaino 4; S Proctor 3; K
Farnsworth 3; M Rivera 5.

UMPIRES: HP--Dan Iassogna. 1B--Wally Bell. 2B--Ron Kulpa. 3B--Adrian Johnson.

T--3:32. Att--52,471.
Weather: 81 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 11 mph, out to
left.</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
MINNESOTA 6
NY YANKEES 7 FINAL</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MINNESOTA (6) AT NY YANKEES (7) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MINNESOTA 1ST: J Bartlett walked. J Mauer singled to center, J Bartlett to
second. M Cuddyer singled to left, J Bartlett scored, J Mauer to third,
M Cuddyer out stretching at second. J Morneau singled to center, J Mauer scored.
T Hunter struck out swinging. J Cirillo reached on infield single to pitcher,
J Morneau to second. L Ford struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors)
MINNESOTA 2, NY YANKEES 0.

NY YANKEES 2ND: J Posada flied out to center. B Abreu flied out to left.
R Cano homered to right. A Phillips doubled to deep right. A Phillips to
third on wild pitch by K Slowey. M Cairo doubled to deep left, A Phillips
scored. J Damon walked. M Cabrera homered to right, M Cairo and J Damon
scored. D Jeter reached on infield single to second. H Matsui struck out
swinging. (5 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 2, NY YANKEES 5.

MINNESOTA 4TH: J Cirillo hit a ground rule double to deep center. L Ford
lined out to center, J Cirillo to third. L Rodriguez lined out to shortstop.
N Punto walked. J Bartlett doubled to deep left, J Cirillo and N Punto scored.
J Mauer singled to center, J Bartlett scored. M Cuddyer popped out to second.
(3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 5, NY YANKEES 5.

NY YANKEES 8TH: P Neshek relieved M Guerrier. J Damon struck out swinging.
M Cabrera struck out swinging. D Jeter walked. H Matsui homered to right,
D Jeter scored. J Posada grounded out to shortstop. (2 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
MINNESOTA 5, NY YANKEES 7.

MINNESOTA 9TH: M Rivera relieved K Farnsworth. M Cabrera in center field.
H Matsui in left field. L Rodriguez singled to right. J Kubel hit for N Punto.
J Kubel singled to center, L Rodriguez to third. J Tyner ran for J Kubel.
J Bartlett struck out swinging, J Tyner stole second. J Mauer grounded out
to shortstop, L Rodriguez scored. M Cuddyer struck out swinging. (1 Run,
2 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 6, NY YANKEES 7.</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MINNESOTA (6) AT NY YANKEES (7) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Minnesota Starting Lineups -- J Bartlett SS, J Mauer C, M Cuddyer RF, J Morneau 1B,
T Hunter CF, J Cirillo DH, L Ford LF, L Rodriguez 3B, N Punto 2B, K Slowey RHP.

Ny Yankees Starting Lineups -- J Damon CF, M Cabrera LF, D Jeter SS, H Matsui DH,
J Posada C, B Abreu RF, R Cano 2B, A Phillips 1B, M Cairo 3B, K Igawa LHP.

Umpires -- Dan Iassogna (HP), Wally Bell (1B), Ron Kulpa (2B), Adrian Johnson (3B).

Gametime Weather: 81 degrees, Cloudy, wind out to left at 11 mph.


MINNESOTA 1ST: J Bartlett walked. J Mauer singled to center, J Bartlett to
second. M Cuddyer singled to left, J Bartlett scored, J Mauer to third,
M Cuddyer out stretching at second. J Morneau singled to center, J Mauer scored.
T Hunter struck out swinging. J Cirillo reached on infield single to pitcher,
J Morneau to second. L Ford struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors)
MINNESOTA 2, NY YANKEES 0.

NY YANKEES 1ST: J Damon popped out to third. M Cabrera singled to right.
D Jeter grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, M Cabrera out at second.
H Matsui lined out to third. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 2, NY YANKEES 0.

MINNESOTA 2ND: L Rodriguez popped out to second. N Punto popped out to
shortstop. J Bartlett grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
MINNESOTA 2, NY YANKEES 0.

NY YANKEES 2ND: J Posada flied out to center. B Abreu flied out to left.
R Cano homered to right. A Phillips doubled to deep right. A Phillips to
third on wild pitch by K Slowey. M Cairo doubled to deep left, A Phillips
scored. J Damon walked. M Cabrera homered to right, M Cairo and J Damon
scored. D Jeter reached on infield single to second. H Matsui struck out
swinging. (5 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 2, NY YANKEES 5.

MINNESOTA 3RD: J Mauer flied out to left. M Cuddyer walked. M Cuddyer to
second on wild pitch by K Igawa. J Morneau flied out to right, M Cuddyer to
third. T Hunter struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 2,
NY YANKEES 5.

NY YANKEES 3RD: J Posada fouled out to third. B Abreu doubled to center.
R Cano grounded out to second, B Abreu to third. A Phillips grounded out to
shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 2, NY YANKEES 5.

MINNESOTA 4TH: J Cirillo hit a ground rule double to deep center. L Ford
lined out to center, J Cirillo to third. L Rodriguez lined out to shortstop.
N Punto walked. J Bartlett doubled to deep left, J Cirillo and N Punto scored.
J Mauer singled to center, J Bartlett scored. M Cuddyer popped out to second.
(3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 5, NY YANKEES 5.

NY YANKEES 4TH: M Cairo struck out looking. J Damon singled to center.
M Cabrera fouled out to third. D Jeter walked, J Damon to second. D Reyes
relieved K Slowey. J Damon to third, D Jeter to second on wild pitch by
D Reyes. H Matsui popped out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
MINNESOTA 5, NY YANKEES 5.

MINNESOTA 5TH: J Morneau grounded out to second. T Hunter grounded out
to second. J Cirillo popped out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
MINNESOTA 5, NY YANKEES 5.

NY YANKEES 5TH: J Posada struck out looking. B Abreu flied out to center.
R Cano singled to left. A Phillips walked, R Cano to second. M Cairo struck
out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 5, NY YANKEES 5.

MINNESOTA 6TH: L Vizcaino relieved K Igawa. L Ford struck out looking.
L Rodriguez grounded out to second. N Punto singled to center. J Bartlett
struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 5, NY YANKEES 5.

NY YANKEES 6TH: J Damon grounded out to second. M Cabrera singled to left.
M Guerrier relieved D Reyes. D Jeter popped out to second. H Matsui singled
to right, M Cabrera to second. J Posada lined out to first. (0 Runs, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) MINNESOTA 5, NY YANKEES 5.

MINNESOTA 7TH: S Proctor relieved L Vizcaino. J Mauer walked. M Cuddyer
flied out to right. J Morneau grounded into double play, second to shortstop
to first, J Mauer out at second.(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 5,
NY YANKEES 5.

NY YANKEES 7TH: B Abreu struck out swinging. R Cano fouled out to first.
A Phillips singled to left. M Cairo flied out to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) MINNESOTA 5, NY YANKEES 5.

MINNESOTA 8TH: K Farnsworth relieved S Proctor. T Hunter flied out to left.
J Cirillo flied out to right. L Ford struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) MINNESOTA 5, NY YANKEES 5.

NY YANKEES 8TH: P Neshek relieved M Guerrier. J Damon struck out swinging.
M Cabrera struck out swinging. D Jeter walked. H Matsui homered to right,
D Jeter scored. J Posada grounded out to shortstop. (2 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
MINNESOTA 5, NY YANKEES 7.

MINNESOTA 9TH: M Rivera relieved K Farnsworth. M Cabrera in center field.
H Matsui in left field. L Rodriguez singled to right. J Kubel hit for N Punto.
J Kubel singled to center, L Rodriguez to third. J Tyner ran for J Kubel.
J Bartlett struck out swinging, J Tyner stole second. J Mauer grounded out
to shortstop, L Rodriguez scored. M Cuddyer struck out swinging. (1 Run,
2 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 6, NY YANKEES 7.</div>

 

Matsui's blast guides Yankees past Twins

<h3>NY YANKEES 7, MINNESOTA 6</h3>BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- Their leading run producer wasgetting his hamstring examined but the New York Yankees stillhad plenty of offense.

Hideki Matsui hit a go-ahead two-run homer with two outs in thebottom of the eighth inning as the Yankees overcame anothershaky start by Kei Igawa and recorded a 7-6 victory over theMinnesota Twins on Thursday afternoon.

Kyle Farnsworth (1-1) earned the win, pitching a scoreless eighthinning.

Third baseman Alex Rodriguez missed his first game of the seasonwith a strained left hamstring. He tried to play through theinjury in the previous two games but went hitless, extending hisslump to a season-worst 0-for-19.

After not being in manager Joe Torre's lineup, Rodriguezunderwent an MRI. Results of the MRI were not available at theend of the game and Matsui replaced Rodriguez as the cleanuphitter.

With Rodriguez away from Yankee Stadium, the Yankees recorded 13hits - eight more than Wednesday's 6-2 loss to Johan Santana.They also got solid showings from Robinson Cano and MelkyCabrera, who were a combined 5-for-9 and each homered in NewYork's five-run second inning, which turned a 2-0 deficit into a5-2 lead.

The Yankees were unable to hold the lead and the game stayedtied until two outs in the eighth against Pat Neshek, who struckout Johnny Damon and Cabrera. But Neshek walked Derek Jeterand fell behind Matsui, who crushed a 3-1 pitch into theright-center field bleachers.

It was Matsui's 10th home run and second in as many days. Theblast made a winner out of Kyle Farnsworth, who pitched a rareperfect inning.

The Twins scraped for a run in the ninth off Mariano Rivera, butthe Yankee reliever managed a pair of strikeouts to secure his11th save.

Before the dramatic eighth, the Yankees had their secondfive-run inning of the series.

With two outs in the second, Cano sent an 0-1 pitch fromMinnesota rookie starter Kevin Slowey (3-1) into the right fieldseats. That made it a one-run game and the Yankees kept itgoing as Andy Phillips doubled and scored on Miguel Cairo'sdouble to left field.

After Damon walked, Cabrera sent an 0-2 pitch into theright-center field bleachers. It was the fourth home run of theseason for Cabrera, who is Cano's best friend on the team, andwas his first in 108 at-bats dating to June 2 at Boston.

In his third start since returning from the minors to work onhis mechanics, Igawa allowed five runs and seven hits in fiveinnings. He failed to preserve the 5-2 lead when he allowed atwo-out two-run double to Jason Bartlett in the fourth on an 0-2pitch.

Bartlett scored the tying run on Joe Mauer's base hit up themiddle but the Twins managed just one hit the rest of the wayagainst Luis Vizcaino, Scott Proctor and Kyle Farnsworth.

Slowey lasted 3 2/3 innings and was tagged for five runs andeight hits after being unable to hold a 2-0 lead.

The first four Twins reached base as Michael Cuddyer and JustinMorneau produced consecutive RBI singles. Minnesota had anopportunity for more but Torii Hunter struck out and with thebases loaded, Igawa retired Lew Ford and Luis Rodriguez.

 

Matsui's blast guides Yankees past Twins

<h3>NY YANKEES 7, MINNESOTA 6</h3>BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- Their leading run producer wasgetting his hamstring examined but the New York Yankees stillhad plenty of offense.

Hideki Matsui hit a go-ahead two-run homer with two outs in thebottom of the eighth inning as the Yankees overcame anothershaky start by Kei Igawa and recorded a 7-6 victory over theMinnesota Twins on Thursday afternoon.

Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez missed his first game ofthe season with a strained left hamstring. He tried to playthrough the injury in the previous two games but went hitless,extending his slump to a season-worst 0-for-19.

After not being in manager Joe Torre's lineup, Rodriguezunderwent an MRI exam Thursday. Results of the MRI were notavailable at the end of the game and Matsui replaced Rodriguezas the cleanup hitter.

"His presence is very important in the lineup and not having himbeing there, it was great that everybody else contributed tohelp the team win," Matsui said through an interpreter.

"The most important thing is to see how comfortable he is,"Torre said. "He may know something by tomorrow. I think notplaying today, he basically had almost 48 hours off. I wasconcerned when I heard he was going for an MRI. It's somethingthat our medical staff wanted to do to make sure there wasnothing going on."

With Rodriguez away from Yankee Stadium, the Yankees recorded 13hits - eight more than in Wednesday's 6-2 loss to JohanSantana. They also got solid showings from Robinson Cano andMelky Cabrera, who were a combined 5-for-9 and each homered inNew York's five-run second inning, which turned a 2-0 deficitinto a 5-2 lead.

The Yankees were unable to hold the lead and the game stayedtied until two outs in the eighth against Pat Neshek, who struckout Johnny Damon and Cabrera. But Neshek walked Derek Jeterand fell behind Matsui, who crushed a 3-1 pitch into theright-center field bleachers.

"I got a go sign at 3-0 but when I swung at the pitch, I kind offelt like I was forcing it, trying to put the ball (in play),"Matsui said. "So after 3-1, I was focusing more on center fieldand I was able to put a really good swing on it."

Matsui became the second Yankee to reach 10 home runs.Rodriguez, who leads the team and the majors with 28 home runs,hit his 10th home run in April.

"He was swinging at a 3-0 pitch, it just went foul," saidNeshek, who allowed a run for just the fourth time in his last33 appearances. "He got a fastball at 3-1 and he just crushedit. That's what good hitters do when you miss your spot."

Matsui batted fourth for the first time since June 12, 2005, atSt. Louis and went 5-for-12 in the final three games following a1-for-15 slump.

"He's streaky at times. When he's hot it seems like you don'tget him out for two or three weeks and then he scuffles a littlebit," Jeter said. "But for the most part, he's always going togive you quality at-bats even when he's not swinging the battoo well. But anytime (he's going good), he hits righties, hehits lefties. He hit a home run today but he hits the ball theother way. He can do a lot of things."

The blast made a winner out of Kyle Farnsworth (1-1), whopitched a rare perfect inning.

The Twins scraped for a run in the ninth off Mariano Rivera, butthe Yankee closer managed a pair of strikeouts to secure his11th save. The Twins had a runner at second after Joe Mauer'sRBI groundout but Rivera struck out Michael Cuddyer with JustinMorneau looming on deck.

"We battled," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We gaveourselves a good chance there in the ninth and against one ofthe better relievers in the game."

It was Rivera's 424th career save, which tied him with formerNew York Mets closer John Franco for third place on the all-timelist.

"The most important thing is that we won the game today," Riverasaid. "It's not about myself, it's about the team and withoutmy teammates I can't accomplish anything."

Before the dramatic eighth, the Yankees had their secondfive-run inning of the series.

With two outs in the second, Cano sent an 0-1 pitch fromMinnesota rookie starter Kevin Slowey into the right fieldseats. That made it a one-run game and the Yankees kept itgoing as Andy Phillips doubled and scored on Miguel Cairo'sdouble to left field.

After Damon walked, Cabrera ripped an 0-2 pitch into theright-center field bleachers. It was the fourth home run of theseason for Cabrera and was his first in 108 at-bats dating toJune 2 at Boston.

In his third start since returning from the minors to work onhis mechanics, Igawa allowed five runs and seven hits in fiveinnings. He failed to preserve the 5-2 lead when he allowed atwo-out, two-run double to Jason Bartlett in the fourth on an0-2 pitch.

Bartlett scored the tying run on Mauer's base hit up the middlebut the Twins managed just one hit the rest of the way againstLuis Vizcaino, Scott Proctor and Farnsworth.

Slowey lasted 3 2/3 innings and was tagged for five runs andeight hits after being unable to hold a 2-0 lead. The Twins areplaying a day-night doubleheader in Chicago on Friday andoptioned Slowey to the minors to make room for another pitcher.

The first four Twins reached base as Cuddyer and Morneauproduced consecutive RBI singles. Minnesota had an opportunityfor more but Torii Hunter struck out and with the bases loaded,Igawa retired Lew Ford and Luis Rodriguez.

In his third start since spending seven weeks in the minors towork on his mechanics, Igawa allowed five runs and seven hits infive innings.

"Today was a question mark," Torre said. "It was based on thefact that he couldn't command the fastball."