The Minnesota Twins made too many mistakes in this series and were swept by the New York Yankees last night in the Metrodome’s final baseball game.  Once again, a baserunning error turned out to be very costly for the Twins.  Nick Punto thought a ball hit up the middle had gotten through and started to go home.  He thought wrong and was easily gunned down at third by Jorge Posada after Derek Jeter threw it home.  The Twins were completely outmatched in this series though, and the Yankees proved it with both their pitching and their hitting.

Joe Mauer got the lone RBI for the Twins in this contest, and it was his first career postseason RBI.  Mauer’s sixth inning RBI single gave the Twins the lead, but it only lasted an inning.  Alex Rodriguez, who went 5 for 11 with 2 homers in this series, tied the game at one with a solo shot in the 7th.  Jorge Posada followed that up with his own solo shot and the Yankees kept the lead the rest of the game.  It was a disappointing end to an exciting season for the Twins, where they beat out the Detroit Tigers for the AL Central title in the final day of the season.

The Twins have lost starting 3B Matt Tolbert due to a strained left oblique muscle. He could return to action in the post season later if the Twins somehow advance. He played in 2 games against the Yankees in this series and he was 1 for 5 (.200 avg). Brendan Harris will likely step in at 3B. That will make the Twins a better hitting team but weaker on defense. The Twins have added Brian Buscher to the active roster to replace Tolbert.

The Twins have five players hitting over .360 in this series. Joe Mauer and Nick Punto are each hitting .500 in this series. Mauer is 4 for 8 with a double and a run scored and Nick Punto is 3 for 6 with 1 RBI. Next up is Michael Cuddyer who is 4 for 10 (.400 avg) with 1 RBI. Brendan Harris has swung a hot stick too for the Twins as he is 3 for 8 (.375 avg) with a triple, 1 run scored and 1 RBI. Finally, Denard Span has been a pest for the Yankees at the top of the lineup as he is 4 for 11 (.364 avg) with a double and a RBI. The Twins really need to keep hitting as the pitching staff has been having problems keeping up their end of the bargain.

The Minnesota Twins looked like they were going to even their ALDS 1-1 against the Yankees, as they took a 3-1 lead going into the bottom of the ninth.  Although the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez has been struggling mightily in recent years, he was able to save the Yankees night as he hit a 2-run game-tying homer in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings.  Mark Texiera topped that with a walk-off line drive homerun in the bottom of the 11th to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead in their ALDS.

The Twins got majorly screwed on an 11th inning call by the left-field umpire, as Joe Mauer hit a slicing liner down the left field line that landed fair by about a foot and the ump called it foul.  The ball bounced up in the stands and Mauer should have been awarded a ground-rule double, but it was called foul.  Mauer was able to hit a single a few pitches later, and ended up being forced out at home.  Had Mauer been awarded second like he should have, he would have scored and the Twins would have had the lead and men in scoring position.

The ump wasn’t the only one who hurt the Twins, as they hurt themselves big-time in the 4th inning.  Carlos Gomez overran 2nd base and was tagged out right before Delmon Young was able to cross home-plate, costing the Twins a run.  The game was very close so it ended up being a big and costly mistake for the Twins.  The Twins should have won this game and it looks like this loss may have cost them this series.  The Twins are at home for game three, but the Yankees have all of the momentum and their big hitters are hot right now, so things are not looking good for the Twins.

The Minnesota Twins dropped the first game of their ALDS 7-2 against the New York Yankees and are trying to even things up tonight.  Hopefully for the Twins, Yankees’ pitcher A.J. Burnett will not handle his first career postseason start well.  With Burnett starting it also means that the Twins’ starting pitcher Nick Blackburn will not have to face Jorge Posada, as the Yankees have decided to go with Jose Molina.  In 138 at bats Molina only hit .217 with one home-run and 11 RBI.  Compare that to the regular starter and more offensive minded catcher, Posada, who hit .285 with 22 HR’s and 81 RBI.  This is good news for Blackburn and the Twins.

Blackburn is coming into this game hot, as he has a 1.65 ERA in his last four starts.  He needs to have more success than he has had in the past against the Yankees though, as he has a 5.89 ERA in four starts against them.  The Twins’ bats need to come alive as well, especially Jason Kubel who has been the Twins hero the last few weeks.  Look for a big game from Mauer, as he is 5 for 13 lifetime off of Burnett.  I’m expecting the Twins to come out with a lot more energy and urgency in this game and don’t be surprised if they steal one from the Yankees in New York and get their first win of 2009 against the Yankees.