GAME 53: Mistake pitches, base-running miscues and mostly a dormant offense all contributed to a rare Minnesota Twins victory in The Bronx. Yankees starter Vidal Nuno continues to struggle pitching at home. He allowed home run balls in the second inning and two in the fourth.
The New York lineup had no answer for Twin’s starter Ricky Nolasco — who entered the game with a 6.21 ERA, second worst in the American League.
After a Jacoby Ellsbury double in the third inning scored Brett Gardner to tie the game at 1, the Yankees offense was done for the day. Nolasco departed the game in the bottom of the 7th, and the Minnesota bullpen held it from there.
Base-running snafus included Derek Jeter rounding first base too far after singling to right with Gardner on second. A quick throw behind him had the Captain in a pickle. Then Gardy took off for home. When the highjinks ended, Gardner was out at third in a 9-2-4-2-5-2 play. Also, Brian Roberts was picked off first base in the second inning, tagged out in a rundown trying to reach second base.
Captain Obviously
“You just come back tomorrow and hopefully we can start swinging the bats a little bit better, and scoring some runs. It’s obviously a lot easier on the pitching staff if we score.”
— Derek Jeter
Here’s the box score and recap.
MEMORY LANE: On today’s date in 1974, The San Diego Padres purchased Horace Clarke from the Yankees. (Source: Baseball Reference.com) Clarke manned second base for the Bombers between 1965 and 1974 … On May 30, 1969, the Yankees defeated the Kansas City Royals 5-2, behind a complete game effort by Fritz Peterson. Horace Clarke went 1-5 with an RBI that day, joining Bobby Murcer (HR) and Roy White (2 RBI) in supplying the power …
