*********LIVE GAME CHAT AT BOTTOM OF POST*********
ALDS Game 2Yankees vs. Twins
Yankee Stadium - Bronx, NY
Game Time: 6:07 p.m.
TV: TBS | Radio: WCBS 880
Game Time: 6:07 p.m.
TV: TBS | Radio: WCBS 880
Here are the lineups:
YANKEES (1-0)
Derek Jeter SS
Johnny Damon LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Hideki Matsui DH
Nick Swisher LF
Robinson Cano 2B
Melky Cabrera CF
Jose Molina C
Pitching: RHP A.J. Burnett (13-9, 4.04 ERA)
TWINS (0-1)
Denard Span RF
Orlando Cabrera SS
Joe Mauer C
Jason Kubel DH
Michael Cuddyer 1B
Delmon Young LF
Carlos Gomez CF
Matt Tolbert 3B
Nick Punto 2B
Pitching: RHP Nick Blackburn (11-11, 4.03 ERA)
Yankees vs. Blackburn
| AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | |
| N. Swisher | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | .250 | .400 | .333 | .733 |
| J. Damon | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .273 | .333 | .636 | .970 |
| A. Rodriguez | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | .333 | .333 | .667 | 1.000 |
| R. Cano | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| D. Jeter | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | .429 | .636 | .857 | 1.494 |
| M. Teixeira | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.667 | 2.667 |
| M. Cabrera | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .167 | .167 | .167 | .333 |
| E. Hinske | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .250 | .400 | .500 | .900 |
| B. Gardner | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 | .250 | .250 | .500 |
| H. Matsui | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 | .333 | .667 | 1.000 |
| J. Molina | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .500 | .667 | .500 | 1.167 |
| F. Cervelli | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Totals | 74 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 11 | 8 | .311 | .400 | .541 | .941 |
Twins vs. Burnett
| AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | |
| O. Cabrera | 28 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | .250 | .300 | .357 | .657 |
| J. Kubel | 17 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .294 | .294 | .353 | .647 |
| M. Cuddyer | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | .154 | .267 | .231 | .497 |
| J. Mauer | 13 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | .385 | .467 | .462 | .928 |
| B. Harris | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .167 | .231 | .417 | .647 |
| N. Punto | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | .091 | .286 | .091 | .377 |
| D. Span | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | .273 | .333 | .273 | .606 |
| D. Young | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .300 | .300 | .400 | .700 |
| C. Gomez | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .143 | .250 | .143 | .393 |
| M. Tolbert | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | .400 | .571 | .800 | 1.371 |
| A. Casilla | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | .250 | .000 | .250 |
| Totals | 130 | 31 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 15 | 33 | .238 | .317 | .331 | .648 |
News & Notes
- At 103-59 the Yankees had the best record in all of baseball. And at 57-24 they had the best home record in baseball as well.
- The Yankees have no won a postseason series since 2004, the team they beat that year was, you guessed it, the Twins.
- The Yankees are 8-0 against the Twins this season including game 1. Minnesota has not won a game in the Bronx since 7/4/07.
- A.J. Burnett has faced the Twins six times in his career, and is 2-1, with a 3.72 in those games. In two starts this year he's 1-0, with a 2.77 ERA against them. In 13 innings he allowed 4 earned runs on 13 hits, walked 10, and struck out 9. Tonight will be his first career postseason start.
- In four games against the Yanks in his career Nick Blackburn is 0-1, with a 5.89 ERA. He faced them once this year, back on 5/16 in the Bronx, and allowed 4 ER on 6 hits, walked 3, and struck out 4 in a no decision. This will also be Blackburn's first postseason start.
- Since game 5 of the 2004 ALCS Alex Rodriguez wass hitting .143 (8-for-56) with two doubles, a homer, an RBI, 10 walks, and 18 strikeouts. Now he's 2-for-4 with 2 RBI and a run scored.
- Here's an interesting article about the Molina-Posada-Burnett situation from Scott Ham of The Bronx View.
- For even more of that story, here's an article from Steve Politi, who says to "Jorge, it could be worse. You could be Jason Varitek."
- Minnesota finished 17-4 to make up a seven game deficit in early September to overtake the Detroit Tigers and win the AL Central.
****LIVE GAME CHAT STARTS @ 5:45 PM****
