Yankees 7, Twins 2: Nasty sixth sinks Minnesota

The best part of today's game thread was where we talked about video games and consoles and stuff. Because it was that kind of game.

Remember when - in both the series preview and in my pre-game notes - where it was mentioned that Nathan Evoldi doesn't strike out enough guys considering the velocity he carries? He struck out the side in the first to really drive home how good I am at baseball analysis. For the first few innings Kyle Gibson matched him, stranding Brett Gardner at second in the first and then Carlos Beltran at third in the second.

Minnesota took the lead in the third. Aaron Hicks and Brian Dozier sliced back-to-back one-out singles, and Hicks scored on a Torii Hunter groundout. 1-0 good guys, right? Party time! Gibson's cruising, let's just get him some more run support, yeah!

But the Yankees tied it in the top of the fifth when Gibson missed his spot and Chase Headley destroyed a baseball and its children with a massive home run into left field. Then the game went completely to hell in the sixth when Gibson loaded the bases without recording an out. He struck out Carlos Beltran to keep the dream of a double play and a clean inning alive, but Garrett Jones and Headley followed up with singles to push the score to 4-1 and chase Gibson from the contest.

New York's fifth run came immediately. Didi Gregorius put down a fairly terrible but effective bunt to plate Jones from third. And then Stephen Drew put the nail in the coffin with a two-run home run. Ryan O'Rourke did not do his job, although that's more or less the story of the bullpen these days. Those three runs made it 7-1.

There was a good moment or two for the Twins. Let me think. Oh, right: Aaron Hicks had two hits in three at-bats, and Brian Dozier had two hits and a walk in four trips to the dish. Hicks made good contact. So did Joe Mauer, although he only came away with a single to extend his hitting streak to eight games. J.R. Graham pitched two perfect innings and recorded a trio of strikeouts.

On the down side: Gibson. O'Rourke. Hunter grounded into a couple of rally-killing double plays. Miguel Sano struck out two more times today, which isn't terrible considering the success he's having but that doesn't mean he isn't striking out a lot.

In the big picture here, the Twins drop two of three to the Yankees after dropping two of three to the Angels and two of three to the Athletics. That makes the Twins 3-6 since the All-Star break and it gives them a 52-46 record overall. If there's a time for the front office to bring in just a little bit of talent, now is it.

The Twins are off tomorrow before getting Pittsburgh on Tuesday and Wednesday, but we'll have plenty to talk about on an off-day. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

ROLL CALL!

COMMENT OF THE GAME THREAD:

James Fillmore: "GO NADS GO"

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