Gardenhire steamed as Yankees sweep Twins

The manager said three losses took their toll on the Twins and said he'll talk to his players about getting their mojo back.

By LA VELLE E. NEAL III, Star Tribune

Last update: July 24, 2008 - 8:05 AM

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NEW YORK 5, TWINS 1

Up next: Three-game series beginning 6:05 p.m. Friday at Cleveland

TV: Ch. FSN (1500-AM)

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NEW YORK - After a third consecutive loss to the Yankees on Wednesday -- and with the latest one marked by public displays of frustration -- Twins manager Ron Gardenhire decided he needed to do something.

The Twins will still get their off-day in Cleveland today, but Gardenhire will be waiting for them to show up at Progressive Field on Friday.

He spent the week watching pitchers falling apart on the mound, fielders giving outs away and his team not playing aggressive baseball. So, after the Twins' 5-1 loss to the Yankees, Gardenhire said it's time for a chat.

"We gotta figure out something when we get to Cleveland to get our mojo back because we lost a little bit of it here," Gardenhire said. "It's not a good feeling right now. So we'll do that in Cleveland -- have a little talk and go from there."

His team hopefully will have calmed down by then.

Carlos Gomez popped a bunt to first baseman Richie Sexson in the third inning, then snapped his bat as he returned to the dugout. He also stared at his bat in disbelief after striking out on a breaking ball in the eighth.

And lefthander Glen Perkins snapped at second baseman Alexi Casilla after Casilla fouled up a sure inning-ending double play by being out of position because he thought there were two outs instead of one. Perkins gave up a two-run double on the next at-bat, which sent the Twins down the path to their latest loss in Yankee Stadium.

Perkins then continued the dialogue about the mixup in the dugout.

The Twins badly wanted to avoid getting swept but watched another game unravel in front of them as they fell to 3-19 at Yankee Stadium since 2002.

"I think we made some mistakes we don't normally make," Twins first baseman Justin Morneau said. "It's a lot of guys' first times playing here and I think we were a little overexcited."

Gardenhire agreed: "We don't like to talk about it, but we played young in this ballpark, and that's a little disappointing.''

The Yankees added three runs in the sixth inning as they won their six consecutive game while handing the Twins their fourth consecutive loss. Mike Lamb's RBI single in the ninth was the Twins' only run.

Yankees righthander Mike Mussina (13-6) matched a season high by pitching eight innings and improved his career record to 22-6 against the Twins.

The Twins were swept in the three-game series by a combined score of 25-6, looking several levels below that of the Yankees. The Twins now have been swept five times this season, with three of those coming at Chicago, Boston and New York -- three places they need to prove they can win at.

"Obviously we're going to have to play better on the road if we consider ourselves a playoff team,'' Morneau said.

The Twins were able to rebound from the earlier sweeps to remain in the playoff race. After an off-day in Cleveland today -- followed by a speech from the manager on Friday -- they'll be challenged to do it again.

"It's pretty good that we are young with short memories and can forget those series quick," Morneau said.

"Hopefully can spend the off-day watching movies, playing golf and forgetting about New York and get ready for Cleveland."