The LoHud Yankees Blog

Update, 1:25: Wow, impressive hitting by Justin Morneau, going the other way with a low-and-away breaking ball from Sergio Mitre and sending it to his teammates in the Twins’ bullpen beyond the left-center fence – 1-0, Twins.

Update, 1:44: Great job with two-out hitting by the Yankees. Jorge Posada grounds a single into center. Marcus Thames wins a 10-pitch at-bat with Nick Blackburn, drawing a full-count walk. And Randy Winn, batting .179, lines a triple to the right-center gap for the 2-1 lead.

Update, 2:05: Nice work by Mitre so far, unlike in his last spot start in Detroit on Monday, when he gave up four runs and five hits in 4 1/3. So far, he has allowed just one run and two hits in his four innings.

Update, 2:36: Nick Blackburn had been much tougher in May (1.69 ERA) than he was in April (6.85), so the Yankees needed to take advantage of first and third and no one out. And they did with Mark Teixeira’s bloop RBI single to left-center. Denard Span just missed his second diving catch of the game on that one.  But A-Rod misfired with a runner on third and one out. The grounder to third ended up with Derek Jeter out at home. It’s 3-1 after five.

Update, 2:43: Mitre just gave up a leadoff single to Orlando Hudson. David Robertson is warming up.

Update, 2:44: Robertson is coming in. Mitre got a nice hand trotting off. You couldn’t have asked any more of him, one run, four hits in five-plus.

Update, 2:54: Nice job by Robertson after walking Joe Mauer. Big strikeout on 3-2 against Morneau, although strike three looked a couple of inches off the plate. Morneau wasn’t pleased with plate ump Tim Tschida. Then Michael Cuddyer lined into an inning-ending double play. Somewhat interesting Girardi didn’t go to Damaso Marte against the Twins’ big lefties, although he hasn’t been reliable.  Not that Robertson really has been, either.

Update, 3:38: Joba Chamberlain was able to work into trouble and almost work out of it, getting Morneau swinging before Cuddyer lined a single off Teixeira’s glove. So Mariano Rivera will come in with the bases loaded, looking for a four-out save.

Update, 3:45: Well, that didn’t work out too well for the Yankees. Walk to Jim Thome to force in a run, then grand slam to right by Jason Kubel. The Twins have been overdue, losing 12 straight to the Yankees. Rivera hadn’t allowed a run this season, covering 11 innings, and he hadn’t blown a save this season in seven tries. It’s 6-3 Minnesota going to the ninth.

Update, 4:10: Rivera had arrived with 51 consecutive saves at home, tying Eric Gagne for the major-league record. His last blown home save came at the old Yankee Stadium, on Aug. 13, 2007, against the Orioles.

Update, 4:22: Singles by Winn and Pena to open the ninth against Jon Rauch. Is there a comeback in the works?

Update, 4:30: No comeback. Derek Jeter, Brett Gardner and Teixeira struck out to end it. 6-3, Twins win. Finally.

Brian Heyman here today at Yankee Stadium, just up from the clubhouse. First of all, Joe Girardi was very cryptic when asked why he didn’t just push back the other starters to give Javier Vazquez his regular turn instead of skipping him. Girardi said, “It might make more sense to you later on today.” Maybe he was referring to Vazquez possibly pitching out of the bullpen if Sergio Mitre struggles in his spot start, but Vazquez said he didn’t think he was available today. Girardi said Mitre could go to 85 pitches. 

Both Vazquez and Girardi pointed to Tuesday’s rainout as the main reason for him getting bumped. But perhaps some of it is that Vazquez will now start against an NL team in the Mets. Obviously, he had a strong year last year with the Braves.  Anyway Vazquez said he was disappointed that he’s being skipped but that he understood because he saw other guys get bumped so he could take his regular turn in previous years.

Girardi is resting Nick Swisher at the start against the righty, Nick Blackburn, since he has been having trouble swinging lefty with his mild biceps strain. Swisher is available for right-handed pinch-hitting duty. Swisher said will try to take batting practice lefty tomorrow after not swinging lefty yesterday or today. Righty Daisuke Matsuzaka is scheduled to start for the Red Sox here tomorrow night.

Curtis Granderson took batting practice on the field for the first time since going on the DL and said he didn’t feel anything with the groin problem. He’s hoping to be back at the end of the month, but he wasn’t sure really on the timetable. He hasn’t done any stop-and-start type of movements yet. He thought he might need about 25 rehab at-bats like he had the previous time he was injured.

OK, the lineups:

Twins

1. Denard Span CF

2. Orlando Hudson 2B

3. Joe Mauer C

4. Justin Morneau 1B

5. Michael Cuddyer RF

6. Jim Thome DH

7. Jason Kubel LF

8. Alexi Casilla SS

9. Matt Tolbert 3B

Nick Blackburn RHP

Yankees

1. Derek Jeter DH

2. Brett Gardner CF

3. Mark Teixeira 1B

4. Alex Rodriguez 3B

5. Robinson Cano 2B

6. Jorge Posada C

7. Marcus Thames RF

8. Randy Winn LF

9. Ramiro Pena SS 

Sergio Mitre RHP

Andy Pettitte is pitching as well as ever this season, and in his return from a mild elbow injury he led the Yankees to a second straight win at home on Saturday. Pettitte pitched 6.1 scoreless innings before Mark Teixeira and Jorge Posada went deep to put the game out of reach.

The Yankees remain hopeful that a cortisone shot will be enough to be enough to bring Nick Johnson back from a wrist injury that’s had him on the disabled list for the past week. The notebook also his items on the rotation, Nick Swisher, Chan Ho Park and Curtis Granderson.

Out in Detroit, former Yankees prospect Austin Jackson is taking full advantage of an opportunity to play everyday in the big leagues.

The Tampa Bay Rays are putting up a fight in the American League East, and this afternoon they cut bait on a bad free agent signing.

Pat Burrell was designated for assignment to open a roster spot for veteran Hank Blalock to be called up from Triple-A Durham. Burrell was hitting just .202 with two home runs, this after hitting .221 with 14 homers last year.

The Rays signed Burrell last season and he’s owed $9 million this year. It’s hard to imagine anyone claiming him and that salary off waivers.

In Blalock, the Rays had an experience backup waiting for a call-up. Blalock was hitting .349 with four home runs in Triple-A, and he has a solid big league track record that includes 25 home runs last year with Texas.

With the Red Sox fighting to stay above .500, the more interesting two-game series next week might not be the Monday and Tuesday games against Boston, it might be the Wednesday and Thursday games against the Rays.

The last time Andy Pettitte was 5-0, he was also 24 years old, pitching his third season in the major leagues. His 1.79 ERA and nine runs allowed are the lowest of his career through seven starts.

“I always believe that Andy can be great every time he takes the ball,” Joe Girardi said. “I’ve caught him. I’ve coached him. I’ve managed him. To me, he really has what it takes inside to be a consistent player. At times he’s hard on himself, but he expects a lot every time he goes out there. Whether he’s feeling great or not feeling great, he’s always been a team player, willing to say I might be a little cranky but I’m still taking the ball. I would never put a limitation on Andy because of what he’s got inside.”

At 37 years old, Pettitte has been as good as ever. Or, according to the numbers, maybe even better than ever. He said he was hesitant to let his pitches go in the bullpen — some lingering concern about the elbow — but he put it out of his mind when he got to the mound.

“I went out there for the first inning and I was telling myself, just throw the ball,” Pettitte said. “If it starts hurting, we’ll deal with it.”

It never started hurting, and Pettitte was able to roll through 6.1 scoreless innings, getting some huge plays from his defense and getting a huge out when Joe Mauer flied to center to strand two runners in the sixth inning. Pettitte is now 5-0 for the first time since he was Francisco Cervelli’s age.

“Young pitchers, they’ve got to realize it’s not speed, it’s not how hard you throw,” Cervelli said. “Everything is mental. It’s where you put every pitch. He’s able to throw every pitch in every count. That’s it.”

Here’s Pettitte.

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• Curtis Granderson felt “very encouraged” after eight sprints of roughly 60-yards. “Each one was progressively faster and harder,” he said. Granderson estimated that he was up to 70 or 75 percent for the last sprint, and he hopes to take batting practice on the field tomorrow.

• Brian Cashman said Chan Ho Park remains on scheduled to be activated tomorrow.

• Joe Girardi let Nick Swisher bat left-handed in the middle of today’s game, but he’s not sure he’ll let Swisher start against a right-handed pitcher tomorrow. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do tomorrow because it was left-handed that hurt him to swing,” Girardi said. “We’ll discuss it. He’s day to day every day. I have some concerns about him going out there left-handed, though.”

• A lot of great plays by the Yankees today: Brett Gardner’s catch, Alex Rodriguez’s throw, Nick Swisher’s catch, Robinson Cano’s double play, Andy Pettitte spearing a line drive. “They put the ball in play, they don’t strike out a ton, and you have to play good defense behind your pitchers when you face the Twins,” Girardi said.

• Gardner said that first inning fly ball is normally a tough play because it was hit off the bat and the first step is usually tough to gauge, but this one stayed low enough that he knew off the bat he had a chance to make the play. “It was low enough that I was able to get a good jump,” he said.

• The Yankees have now won 25 of their past 28 regular season home games against Minnesota.

• Gardner snapped his 16-game on-base streak.

• Jorge Posada has doubled in his past three games… Alex Rodriguez has driven in a run in 12 of his past 16 games… Mark Teixeira has six multi-hit games in May… Derek Jeter’s two hits matched his total from the previous six games in which he went 2-for-25.

• Mike Ashmore talked to Christian Garcia about being released. Garcia indicated that he’d like to rejoin the Yankees organization.

Associated Press photos

The Yankees have announced their rotation for the next week, with Javier Vazquez once again having his turn skipped, this time leaving the Yankees top four pitchers to face the Red Sox and Rays. Vazquez will make his next start in the series opener against the Mets.

Sunday: Sergio Mitre vs. Twins
Monday: Phil Hughes vs. Red Sox
Tuesday: CC Sabathia vs. Red Sox
Wednesday: A.J. Burnett vs. Rays
Thursday: Andy Pettitte vs. Rays
Friday: Javier Vazquez at Mets

“Our guys have been throwing great and we believe we’re getting Javy back to where he needs to be,” Joe Girardi said. “Javy was supposed to start tomorrow. We got in a little bit of a pickle because of rain and things we had to go through, so Serge has to make that start now. And we’re just going to move Javy to Friday.”

Associated Press photo

The Yankees offense stayed hot this afternoon, and Andy Pettitte continued his dominant start to the season. With 6.1 scoreless innings from Pettitte, plus home runs from Mark Teixeira and Jorge Posada, the Yankees beat the Twins 7-1 for their second victory in a row. After a slow road trip, the lineup has now scored 15 runs in two games since coming home. Pettitte has yet to lose, improving to 5-0 with a 1.79 ERA.

Associated Press photo

YANKEES (23-12)
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada DH
Marcus Thames LF
Francisco Cervelli C
Brett Gardner CF

LHP Andy Pettitte (4-0, 2.08)
Career vs. Twins

TWINS (22-13)
Denard Span CF
Orlando Hudson 2B
Joe Mauer DH
Justin Morneau 1B
Michael Cuddyer RF
Delmon Young LF
Brendan Harris SS
Nick Punto 3B
Drew Butera C

LHP Francisco Liriano (4-1, 2.36)
Career vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 1:05 p.m./YES Network

UMPIRES: HP Tim Timmons, 1B Tim Tschida, 2B Bob Davidson, 3B Alfonso Marquez

WEATHER: Perfectly beautiful day here in the Bronx. Great day for a game.

Sorry for the lack of pregame notes. I had some issues this morning, but we’re good to go now. The big news was Nick Swisher getting the start in right field. His sore left biceps doesn’t hurt him when he swings right-handed, so he’ll be able to play against Liriano. What happens if there’s a pitching change remains to be seen.

“If skip feels I need to get out of here, that’s exactly what will happen,” Swisher said.

Swisher didn’t feel anything when he fouled a ball off last night, he only felt it on a swing and miss.

“Just don’t swing and miss,” he said. “I know we have a lot of guys down. I don’t want to add to the list.”

Otherwise, not a lot going on.

• Curtis Granderson ran a little bit this morning and felt fine.

• Joe Girardi still hasn’t named starters for next week’s two-game series against the Red Sox.

• Chan Ho Park remains on schedule for a likely return to the bullpen on Sunday.

UPDATE, 12:26 p.m.: Here’s the latest on Nick Johnson. After going on the DL in Boston, he got a cortisone shot and the Yankees are waiting to see if that solves the problem in his wrist. Brian Cashman said that the shot does the trick roughly 50 percent of the time.

“We’re hoping that works,” Cashman said. “But if it doesn’t, we’ll have to take other avenues.”

Those other avenues are pretty limited to some sort of surgery. If the shot has done the trick, Johnson could be back in three weeks or so. If he has to have surgery, it will be another four to six weeks from the time of the procedure before he can pick up a bat. The Yankees should know within the next 10 days whether surgery is necessary.

UPDATE, 1:14 p.m.: I just watched a super slo-mo replay and I’m still not sure whether Brett Gardner caught that ball or not. Doesn’t matter. It was a heckuva play, the Yankees got the call and we’re underway here in the Bronx.

UPDATE, 1:25 p.m.: What do you know, this Alex Rodriguez guy can hit a little. His RBI single has the Yankees in front 1-0 in the first inning.

UPDATE, 1:41 p.m.: Very different play from the one that saved A.J. Burnett last night, but Andy Pettitte made the grab on a comebacker to get out of the second inning with a runner stranded at third. Still 1-0 Yankees.

UPDATE, 1:49 p.m.: Slumping Derek Jeter is now 2-for-2 today, and his two-out single here int he second has the Yankees in front 2-0.

UPDATE, 1:57 p.m.: Derek Jeter and Brett Gardner figure it out in center field, Gardner makes the catch and Andy Pettitte is through three innings scoreless.

UPDATE, 2:14 p.m.: Nice play by Robinson Cano to end the fourth with Andy Pettitte still tossing a shutout. By the way, the Yankees are sticking with the pictures of the players in suits on the video board. The one of Mark Teixeira cracks me up.

UPDATE, 2:43 p.m.: Pettitte gets Mauer to fly out, stranding runners at first and second and giving the Yankees starter six scoreless innings. I know better than to doubt Pettitte, but it would have been hard to predict this kind of start to the season. He’s really been outstanding.

UPDATE, 2:48 p.m.: There’s an RBI single by Marcus Thames and a 3-0 lead for Pettitte and the Yankees.

UPDATE, 2:56 p.m.: That’s a stolen base for Gardner and a missed tag for Hudson.

UPDATE, 3:01 p.m.: Randy Winn, not Greg Golson, is in as a defensive replacement in left.

UPDATE, 3:02 p.m.: Huge ovation for Pettitte, who just struck out Morneau before turning the game over to Dave Robertson. That’s 6.1 scoreless innings for Pettitte.

UPDATE, 3:17 p.m.: Damaso Marte bails out Robertson and at least partially redeems himself for last night by striking out Jim Thome with runners at first and second.

UPDATE, 3:20 p.m.: Right-hander on the mound, Swisher stays in to bat left-handed.

UPDATE, 3:27 p.m.: Rodriguez had the grand slam yesterday. Teixeira has a two-run shot today. Production from those two will go a long way toward making up for the injuries to Johnson and Granderson. It’s a 5-0 Yankees lead.

UPDATE, 3:36 p.m.: This is the offense the Yankees were used to earlier in the season. Jorge Posada’s two-run homer has made it a 7-0 ball game.

UPDATE, 3:54 p.m.: Two-out RBI single by Joe Mauer has the Twins on the board. Can’t help wondering if Boone Logan, who allowed the run, might be the one sent down when Park is activated tomorrow. He’s thrown 24 pitches already, so he probably wouldn’t be much help tomorrow anyway. I’m guessing the Yankees would rather have the long man Ivan Nova available behind spot starting Sergio Mitre.

The Twins played it by the book tonight, but the numbers weren’t in their favor.

Alex Rodriguez is 4-for-4 with one walk, one sacrifice fly, two home runs and 14 RBI in six plate appearances when Mark Teixeira has been intentionally walked to load the bases in front of him.

He was already 4-for-6 with three home runs in his career against Twins reliever Matt Guerrier, and that was before tonight’s game-winning grand slam. Joe Girardi, of course, knew those matchup numbers.

“I just kind of kept my mouth shut and watched the game unfold,” Girardi said.

Actually, Girardi thought Rodriguez had only one home run, not three, against Guerrier. Even so, he understood what the Twins were trying to do. They wanted to setup a double play, then use the sinkerballer to get a ground ball. That’s obviously not what happened.

“That’s why I hit fourth,” Rodriguez said. “My team is expecting me to get big hits in those situations.”

The grand slam was the 19th of Rodriguez’s career, the third most all-time. The home run was No. 587, moving him past Frank Robinson for sole possession of seventh on baseball’s career home runs list. Only four of those home runs have come this season, but Rodriguez was one of the few Yankees who actually hit on the recent road trip, and ht was 2-for-3 with a walk on Friday.

“Through all this, the one thing Alex has done is he’s hit with runners in scoring position,” Girardi said. “Alex is an RBI guy. That’s what he does.”

Here’s Rodriguez talking after the game.

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• A.J. Burnett on the comeback double play that helped him get out of trouble in the second inning: “If it doesn’t get caught in my uniform for a second I don’t think I make the play. It might go through my arms.”

• Burnett pitched pretty well tonight, especially considering he wasn’t happy with his fastball command. He said he was up in the zone all night, but after wiggling out of that potentially devastating second, he pitched his way almost through the seventh. “We battled the best we could to keep (the offense) in it,” he said.

• If you didn’t see it in the game post, Damaso Marte was not given the win. He was deemed ineffective by the official scorer and so the win went to Joba Chamberlain, who struck out the side in the eighth. The old Chamberlain really seems to be coming back.

• When Chamberlain was asked about that eighth inning he said, “You don’t want to sleep a waking dog.” Pretty sure he meant, wake a sleeping dog. Like I said, the old Joba is back.

• The Yankees are struggling lately? They’ve won eight of their past 12 games, outscoring their opponents 74-42 in that span. They have the best home record in baseball at 11-2.

• Brett Gardner went 2-for-5 with his second home run of the season. He has now reached base safely in 16 straight games and is batting .367 with a .433 on-base percentage in that stretch.

• Chan Ho Park pitched a scoreless inning in his rehab start tonight with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He struck out two and allowed one hit.

• Great stuff from my friend Donnie Collins, who talked to Brian Cashman about today’s decision to claim Shane Lindsay and release Christian Garcia. “When (Garcia) declared himself as having Tommy John surgery a month ago, I knew that at some point, if I got in a roster crunch, he’d be released,” Cashman said. “It’s too bad, too. Tool-wise, he was one of our better-ability players. But physically, he couldn’t hold it together.”

Associated Press photos.

Nick Swisher’s MRI came back negative, but the Yankees are still labeling him as having a slight strain of the left biceps. He’s considered day-to-day.

Swisher said nothing after his second-inning strikeout, but Joe Girardi saw something in the swing that caused concern. Girardi is a precautionary type guy, and he made a precautionary move with Swisher tonight.

“He told me he was OK,” Girardi said. “I said, I’m going to take you out.”