Summoned to preserve a hard-earned tie in the top of the seventh inning, Abad grooved a first-pitch fastball to the New York Yankees shortstop.
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MINNEAPOLIS ― Didi Gregorius hit a three-run home run in the seventh inning, lifting the New York Yankees to a 4-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday night at Target Field.
The box score says Kyle Gibson allowed three runs in 6.1 innings, but that doesn’t really tell the whole story. 125 (4 for 32) against Abad. It looked like it would be a short night, and yet, there he was at the end of the sixth inning, having allowed just one run.
When it’s late in a close game and the opposing manager brings in a lefty reliever, with Gregorius waiting on deck, Girardi isn’t wondering about whether or not to send up a pinch-hitter. Luckily Robbie Grossman hit a line drive right at Ike Davis at first base.
“You hate to say a game’s over early, but it didn’t start out well”, Twins manager Paul Molitor said.
Miller has allowed just one run over his last six appearances.
Rob Refsnyder’s RBI double was followed by a two-run shot from Carlos Beltran, his team-leading 17th homer of the year. The groin injury was minor compared to the 2014 knee injury which ended his season in May and even smaller than last August’s knee injury, which led to Sabathia successfully adjusting to pitching with a knee brace.
With his pitch count at 46 after only two innings, Sabathia had a much-needed 11-pitch third, retiring the side in order.
Tanaka (4-2), who had two or fewer runs of support in eight of his first 13 starts, was terrific holding the Twins to a second-inning run and seven over eight innings.
The pitch former teammate Andy Pettitte helped Sabathia get comfortable with is the main reason the 35-year-old pitcher is 4-2 with a 0.82 ERA in his past seven starts.
Yankees: RHP Masahiro Tanaka (3-2, 3.08 ERA) will take the mound Friday. Since Sabathia’s last outing, NY has dropped four straight to Detroit and Colorado and its other four combined to allow 18 earned runs and 30 hits in 21 1/3 innings. They’ve begun a two-week stretch during which they play only the Twins and Rockies, 11 times total with three days off.
Gibson faced the minimum 15 batters through five innings, but the first four Yankees reached to start the sixth, with Jacoby Ellsbury’s RBI single tying the game. The Yankees got just one run out of it however, as Gibson got a pop out to second and a double-play grounder to escape the jam after loading the bases with nobody out.
“It’s so far away I never really thought about it”, said Sabathia, a six-time All-Star who was on the 2012 AL staff, but did not pitch. Nunez has flourished this year, entering the game sixth in the league in batting average and third in steals.
“I thought it took him a little bit to get going, but he’s been pretty consistent the whole year”, Joe Girardi said before the game.
The Twins returned OF/IF Danny Santana (strained left hamstring) from his rehab assignment after the game to be taken off the DL, and OF Oswaldo Arcia was designated for assignment to make room.
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Neil Ramirez #50 of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch against the New York Yankees during the third inning of the game on June 17, 2016 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
