Minnesota @ New York preview
Yankee Stadium
Last Meeting ( May 14, 2010 ) Minnesota 4, NY Yankees 8
Maybe all it took for Alex Rodriguez to find his power stroke was a trip back home and some disrespect from the opposing team.
Rodriguez will be looking to pile on when the New York Yankees face the Minnesota Twins on Saturday.
Rodriguez, who has hit at least 30 home runs in every season since 1998, had only managed three blasts prior to Friday's series opener against the Twins.
But when Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire decided to intentionally walk Mark Teixeira in front of Rodriguez to load the bases in the seventh inning, it only took one swing to remind everybody why he gets paid more than anyone else in the game.
Rodriguez drove an 0-1 pitch from Matt Guerrier deep into the left-center field stands for his 19th career grand slam to put the Yankees on top, 7-4, in a game they would go on to win, 8-4.
While it may have been Gardenhire's best move to play for the double play in that situation, he apparently wasn't aware that Rodriguez gets quite angry when Teixeira is walked in front of him. Rodriguez is 4-for-4 with 14 RBIs in that situaton.
The blast moved Rodriguez past Frank Robinson into sole possession of seventh place with 587 career homers and tied him with Eddie Murray for third all-time in grand slams.
Rodriguez wasn't the only New York player that seemed happy to be home, as Robinson Cano broke out of a slump with a two-hit night and Derek Jeter, who was in a 1-for-23 slide, helped spark the late rally with a double up the middle. Back-up catcher Francisco Cervelli continued to impress at the plate as well, improving to 10-for-13 on the season with runners in scoring postion.
New York had limped into Friday night having lost four-of-five on a seven-game road trip.
Minnesota got a pair of RBIs from Joe Mauer and another from Justin Morneau in the losing effort.
The Yankees on Saturday will be taking their cuts against Twins ace Francisco Liriano. The left-hander looked unbeatable in April but has crashed back down over his last two outings, allowing eight runs and 18 hits in 13 total frames.
Liriano suffered his first loss of the season against Baltimore on May 8, yielding 10 hits and five runs in six innings while matching a season-low with three strikeouts.
The 26-year-old Dominican is 0-1 with a 2.77 ERA in three appearances - two starts - against the Yankees. He came out of the bullpen for two innings in the American League Division Series last October and served up a home run to Hideki Matsui.
New York will counter with left-hander Andy Pettitte, who missed his last start due to an inflamed elbow. The veteran felt the injury on May 5 against Baltimore and was lifted after allowing one run in five innings.
Pettitte has been spectacular this season, allowing two runs or less in all but one of his starts while never yielding more than seven hits.
He has been strong against Minnesota in his career, owning a 9-5 mark with a 3.70 ERA in 19 starts. Pettitte earned the win in Game Three of the ALDS against the Twins last season, surrendering one run in 6 1/3 innings.