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.

The Minnesota Twins (0-1) could not get much going against the New York Yankees’ (1-0) ace C.C. Sabathia and lost the first game of the ALDS. The Twins did build an early 2-0 lead in the 3rd inning with an RBI single by Michael Cuddyer which also moved Joe Mauer to third.  Mauer then scored on a passed ball and the Twins were looking in great shape.  The Yankees answered right back with a 2-run homer in the bottom of the inning by one of the clutchest players in postseason play, Derek Jeter.  Jeter hit it off Brian Duensing, who made his first career postseason start tonight and got the loss.  Duensing went 4.2 innings and gave up five runs on seven hits.

The Yankee crowd exploded after Jeter’s homerun and the Yankees took all of the momentum from there.  In the two innings after Jeter’s homer, the Yankees scored four more runs with Hideki Matsui hitting a two-run homer after Alex Rodriguez had an RBI single.  The Twins did a good job building an early lead, but they need to do a better job in the later innings.  They only had four hits after there two-run 3rd inning and were not much of a threat throughout.  The Twins will look to bounce back in game two on Friday night in New York.