Minnesota (55-43) at NY Yankees (53-45)

TV: FSN | Radio: KSTP-AM/TRN 7:05 pm ET Yankee Stadium TV: YES | Radio: WCBS 880, WNSW 1430
min

Twins make last trip to Yankee Stadium

Leslie Parker / Special to MLB.com
Ron Gardenhire says Yankee Stadium holds special memories for him. The manager says he has thought about taking pictures of the place in the Twins' final visit there, barring a postseason appearance, before it is torn down after this season.
Full story >

Twins probable pitcher

Nick Blackburn

  • #53 RHP
  • (7-5) 3.65 ERA 64 SO
Twins: A stellar first half has Blackburn being mentioned as a potential Rookie of the Year candidate. The sinkerball pitcher has started to become more consistent, delivering quality starts in five of his last six outings. He's started to eliminate his problems with the big inning and could be a big factor for the Twins in the second half. He'll make his second start against the Yankees. In the first, he left having pitched just 4 1/3 innings after he was struck in the face by a Bobby Abreu line drive.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 7-7 4.02 130.0 20 72 .292
Season 7-5 3.65 118.1 18 64 .284
July 1-1 1.74 20.2 3 10 .179
Vs. NY Yankees 0-0 2.08 4.1 3 3 .278

Series at a Glance

Standings - 07/21/2008 W L PCT GB Home Away
Minnesota Twins (AL Central) 55 43 .561 - 34-19 21-24
New York Yankees (AL East) 53 45 .541 4.5 30-22 23-23
Stats - 07/21/2008 AVG R HR RBI SB SO ERA IP H BB SO
MIN .279 484 69 463 56 585 4.21 878.2 956 232 572
NYY .267 449 93 438 62 564 4.03 872.0 869 297 691
nyy

Yankees take on contending Twins

Willie Bans / MLB.com
After listing the aspects of baseball -- pitching, hitting and defense -- and saying that the Twins performed them all well, Joe Girardi came to a natural conclusion: "It's a pretty complete club."
Full story >

Yankees probable pitcher

Sidney Ponson

  • #47 RHP
  • (5-1) 3.96 ERA 34 SO
Yankees: Ponson, who signed with New York on June 18, will be making just his fourth start in a Yankees uniform this season. During his last outing he surrendered just one earned run over six innings while recording two strikeouts against Tampa Bay. He is 1-0 with a 4.24 ERA so far in his brief tenure in New York. Ponson possesses a 10-2 record with a 2.42 ERA in 15 career appearances against Minnesota.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 87-102 4.89 1638.2 561 975 .286
Season 5-1 3.96 72.2 25 34 .306
July 0-0 6.55 11.0 5 5 .333
Vs. Minnesota 1-0 1.26 14.1 2 9 .241

Twins hitters vs Sidney Ponson

  2008 2003-2007
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI
Butera, Drew - - - - - - - -
Casilla, Alexi .000 3 0 1 .500 6 0 2
Cuddyer, Michael .000 7 0 0 .100 10 1 1
De Los Santos, Estarlin - - - - - - - -
Hardy, J.J. - - - - - - - -
Harris, Brendan .667 3 0 0 .500 8 0 0
Hughes, Luke - - - - - - - -
Kubel, Jason .286 7 0 1 .308 13 0 2
Mauer, Joe .286 7 0 0 .333 15 0 2
Morales, Jose - - - - - - - -
Morneau, Justin .167 6 0 0 .200 20 0 3
Plouffe, Trevor - - - - - - - -
Pridie, Jason - - - - - - - -
Punto, Nick - - - - .182 11 0 0
Ramos, Wilson - - - - - - - -
Span, Denard - - - - .429 7 0 0
Tolbert, Matt .000 3 0 0 .000 3 0 0
Tolleson, Steven - - - - - - - -
Valencia, Danny - - - - - - - -
Young, Delmon .500 4 0 0 .333 15 1 1

Yankees hitters vs Nick Blackburn

  2008 2003-2007
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI
Cabrera, Melky .000 2 0 0 .333 3 0 0
Cano, Robinson .000 2 0 0 .000 5 0 0
Cervelli, Francisco - - - - - - - -
Corona, Reegie - - - - - - - -
Gardner, Brett - - - - .375 8 0 0
Jackson, Austin - - - - - - - -
Jeter, Derek 1.000 1 1 1 .500 6 1 3
Miranda, Juan - - - - - - - -
Nunez, Eduardo - - - - - - - -
Pena, Ramiro - - - - .222 9 0 1
Posada, Jorge - - - - - - - -
Rodriguez, Alex .500 2 0 0 .500 6 1 3
Russo, Kevin - - - - - - - -
Swisher, Nick .333 9 0 2 .333 9 0 2
Teixeira, Mark - - - - 1.000 2 0 1

Yanks take second helpings (55-44) (54-45)

Yankees 12, Twins 4

Blacked out early

Kelly Thesier / MLB.com
Nick Blackburn had little luck the last time he took on the Yankees, when he endured a liner to the face, and though he came out in one piece this time, he came out after just 1 2/3 innings. By then, the Twins had an uphill battle in New York, and didn't have enough to catch up.

Full story >

Twins Wrap >

More Twins Headlines

Tickets | MLB.TV | Multimedia | Shop

Series at a Glance

 

Ponson gets his fill

Anthony DiComo / MLB.com
After A-Rod's homer put the Yanks up, 2-0, in the first, the Twins took a pair of runs right back. But from the bottom of the second frame on, New York poured it on for Sidney Ponson -- who got his second win in pinstripes -- and the Bombers' win streak was fed to four straight.
Full story >

Yankees Wrap >

More Yankees Headlines

Tickets | MLB.TV | Multimedia | Shop

Yankees 12, Twins 4

MinnesotaABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Gomez, CF5001006.247
Casilla, 2B5132012.320
Mauer, C4010112.323
Morneau, 1B4000004.318
  Lamb, 1B0000000.219
Kubel, DH4011002.263
Young, LF2100011.297
  a-Monroe, PH-LF1000010.203
Buscher, 3B4010000.330
Harris, SS3110110.260
Span, RF4130013.329
Totals3641042620 

a-Struck out for Young in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Span (5, Hawkins).
3B: Span (3, Ponson).
TB: Casilla 3; Mauer; Kubel; Buscher; Harris; Span 6.
RBI: Gomez (33), Casilla 2 (38), Kubel (47).
2-out RBI: Casilla; Kubel.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Kubel; Mauer 2; Gomez; Casilla.
GIDP: Morneau.
Team LOB: 8.

FIELDING
E: Casilla (7, throw), Bonser (3, pickoff).
DP: 2 (Casilla-Morneau, Casilla-Lamb-Harris).
 
NY YankeesABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Damon, DH4111001.319
  a-Moeller, PH-DH1000001.239
Jeter, SS5122012.284
Abreu, RF4221002.275
  b-Christian, PH-RF0100100.222
Rodriguez, A, 3B3223100.316
  Betemit, 3B1010000.252
Giambi, 1B3000133.254
  Sexson, 1B0000100.219
Cano, 2B5122003.260
Cabrera, M, CF5220002.247
Molina, J, C4130001.227
Gardner, LF4110013.170
Totals39121694518 

a-Flied out for Damon in the 7th. b-Walked for Abreu in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Damon (24, Bonser).
HR: Rodriguez, A (21, 1st inning off Blackburn, 1 on, 2 out), Cano (8, 3rd inning off Bonser, 0 on, 0 out), Jeter (6, 6th inning off Bonser, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Damon 2; Jeter 5; Abreu 2; Rodriguez, A 5; Betemit; Cano 5; Cabrera, M 2; Molina, J 3; Gardner.
RBI: Rodriguez, A 3 (59), Jeter 2 (44), Abreu (61), Cano 2 (43), Damon (38).
2-out RBI: Rodriguez, A 3; Damon.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Giambi; Jeter; Cabrera, M.
GIDP: Cano.
Team LOB: 7.

FIELDING
DP: (Jeter-Giambi).
 
MinnesotaIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Blackburn (L, 7-6)1.27630113.83
Bonser 3.16441326.59
Breslow 2.02111102.28
Guerrier 1.01112003.46
 
NY YankeesIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Ponson (W, 6-1)5.29332204.02
Ramirez, E 0.10000102.48
Robertson 1.00000101.64
Hawkins 2.01110205.58

Bonser pitched to 2 batters in the 6th.

WP: Breslow 2.
Balk: Breslow.
HBP: Young (by Ponson).
Pitches-strikes: Blackburn 50-33, Bonser 61-43, Breslow 35-21, Guerrier 14-6, Ponson 100-57, Ramirez, E 5-4, Robertson 13-9, Hawkins 23-16.
Groundouts-flyouts: Blackburn 3-1, Bonser 2-5, Breslow 0-4, Guerrier 3-0, Ponson 9-6, Ramirez, E 0-0, Robertson 2-0, Hawkins 4-0.
Batters faced: Blackburn 13, Bonser 17, Breslow 8, Guerrier 5, Ponson 28, Ramirez, E 1, Robertson 3, Hawkins 7.
Inherited runners-scored: Bonser 2-0, Breslow 1-1, Ramirez, E 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Mike Everitt. 1B: Tim McClelland. 2B: Mike DiMuro. 3B: Damien Beal.
Weather: 88 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 8 mph, L to R.
T: 3:09.
Att: 53,484.
July 21, 2008

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner