A bobbled ground ball by Eduardo Nunez with the bases loaded in the 10th inning allowed the New York Yankees to escape with an 8-7 victory over the Twins Monday night.
Chase Headley’s grounder back up the middle allowed pinch runner Brendan Ryan to score the game-winning run. The inning started with back-to-back doubles from Greg Bird and Brian McCann. Ryan was brought in to run for Bird, and he scored on the grounder to Nunez.
Twins closer Glen Perkins (1-4) didn’t retire anyone in the 10th, and was tagged with the loss.
That one hurts for the Twins, I'm sure. Biggest series since I've been covering the team begins on a sour note.
— Derek Wetmore (@DerekWetmore) August 18, 2015
The Yankees took the early lead on a three-run homer from Brian McCann. He finished 3-for-5 with the home run and five RBIs. Carlos Beltran added a big home run in the sixth, and Jacoby Ellsbury finished 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored.
New York had to scramble on the mound most of the night. Bryan Mitchell was making his third career start, but was forced to leave the game after he was hit in the face by a line drive off the bat of Nunez.
Mitchell, who was struck by the Nunez line drive, taken to a local hospital for full evaluation.
— LaVelle E. Neal III (@LaVelleNeal) August 18, 2015
Caleb Cotham, Chasen Schreve, Justin Wilson, Adam Warren, Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller threw relief for the Yankees.
Miguel Sano, Aaron Hicks and Trevor Plouffe all homered in the game for the Twins. Eddie Rosario also had a big night. He was 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored, and made some big plays in the field.
It’s the Rosie Show tonight.
That’s a catch. #slidebabyslide #MNTwins #ICYMI pic.twitter.com/2c6K9d5P7P
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 18, 2015
It wasn’t a good start for Kyle Gibson. He gave up six runs on four hits with three walks and two strikeouts. He left game in the sixth inning with a runner on first and no one out and the Twins clutching a 7-5 lead.
That was until Beltran tied the game moments later with the home run. The Twins couldn’t gain the momentum back, and failed to score a run over the final four innings.
The series continues on Tuesday night with Mike Pelfrey (6-7) on the mound for the Twins against C.C. Sabathia (4-9), who starts for New York.
