Minnesota Twins reel in losing slump as the Yankees go 2 – 0 up in Playoffs (Pt. 1)
The Minnesota Twins have been on a path to self destruction since September. Manager Ron Gardenhire could not fix their problems and as the 2nd game of the playoffs went underway on Thursday against the New York Yankees at Target Field, there
was not much to expect from the side that had been the first team in the American League to qualify for the post-season. The losing trend saw the team slump deeper into a spiral of defeats. With 2 wins in the last 10 games, the home team was never the favourite
ball club to take out the Yanks at home. On Wednesday, that opinion was further exemplified in the game with the visitors as the ball club slumped to a 4 – 6 loss.
Unlike yesterday, the hosts were not facing off against Carsten Charles Sabathia. It was rather Andy Pettitte who had been dipping in form in September. The player was back from his game against Boston Red Sox in the 2010 Major League Baseball season. His
last match saw a good string of pitching and the veteran pitcher found himself back in the Yankees’ line-up. For a man who has been in the game for the last 15 years, the experience on the ball thrower was always strong, venturing into the fixture.
His previous game performance depicted concession of 9 hits off which 3 were runs. In addition to that, the player struck out 8 hitters in the strike zone. The ace man lasted 4 innings but finished his innings on a 3.28 Earning Runs Average. Thursday’s game
was always going to be a test for the main man and the endeavour would be even more important, given the fact that the ball club was in the playoffs.
However, the Twins were not going to go down easily and Carl Pavana was brought on to the mound for Day 2 pitching duties. The choice in bringing on the experienced athlete played a major role in the Andy Pettitte’s selection. While the New York pitcher
was facing a slump in the American League season, Pavana was on a medium standing in his game during the month of September. He closed his 31st game start with a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, conceding 2 runs off 9 hits. His Earning Runs Average
fell to 3.75 and got many spectators on the notice board with his display.
The match was always going to be followed by a great lot of supporters and with a crowd of 42,035 supporters in the stands; Target Field was rampant with continuous and unrelenting cheering and jeering. The game started with the Yankees on the strike zone
and it meant that they had an upper hand on registering the first knock on the game with their batch of hitters on the plate. The Twins, on the other hand, had a chance to fiddle around with the batters to identify their weak side in the competition.
As the game started, no team showed any signs of scoring. Pettitte and Pavana were good and clean on getting their markers off the base. They did so with genuine fervour and discrete. However, the match was bound to open up at some time and that is exactly
what transpired in the bottom of the second inning. Delmon Young started the 2nd inning with a single to the centre field. Jim Thome followed suit as he made a single through the shallow left side of the park. With Delmon on second base, Michael
Cuddyer introduced himself to the diamond and got the base occupant to the third with a grounder out to the third. Jason Kabul was the next man in and he was walked by Pettitte. Bases were full and Danny Valencia made his way to the plate. The player hit a
sacrifice fly to the right to get Young through for the first run of the game.
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