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Picking battles with Yankees is a no-win endeavor for Twins

Mark Teixeira bit the Twins all day, before a dormant Alex Rodriguez struck the final blow with a long 11th-inning homer.

By JOE CHRISTENSEN, Star Tribune

Last update: May 17, 2009 - 11:42 AM

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N.Y. YANKEES 6, TWINS 4 (11)

Up next: at New York • 12:05 p.m. today TV: Ch.29 (1500-AM)

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NEW YORK — Alex Rodriguez sank his batting average to .120 with a big strikeout against Twins righthander Nick Blackburn in the sixth inning Saturday, and Yankees fans let their controversial superstar have it, filling their new stadium with boos.

But even with Rodriguez swinging like a rusty gate, the Twins didn't want to mess with him.

They could have walked Mark Teixeira intentionally to pitch to Rodriguez in the eighth inning but took their chances, and Teixeira tied the score with his sixth hit in six career at-bats against Blackburn.

Then, in the 11th inning, Craig Breslow walked Teixeira before serving up a two-run, game-ending homer to Rodriguez, who celebrated the 6-4 victory with an emotional trip around the bases.

The Yankees mobbed Rodriguez at home plate, and a teammate blindsided him with a shaving cream pie during a postgame interview.

"It doesn't matter to me really how he's swinging in the course of a game," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He may have a couple bad at-bats or whatever, but you've got a very, very good hitter. You hate to see him come up in those situations because he's not going to miss too many times."

It was the second crushing loss to New York in two days for the Twins.

After closer Joe Nathan turned a 4-2 ninth-inning lead into a 5-4 defeat on Friday, the Twins were determined not to use Nathan, Jose Mijares or Jesse Crain.

Nathan had pitched four consecutive days, and Gardenhire said he would have used Matt Guerrier for a ninth-inning save situation if Blackburn had escaped the eighth.

Clinging to a 4-3 lead, Blackburn's instructions were to be extra careful with Teixeira with two outs and a runner on third base.

"I was going to be careful and stay away from him, but I did the same thing I did all night -- threw one over the plate," Blackburn said.

Teixeira had four of the Yankees' six hits against Blackburn, including a three-run homer in the third inning. He lined Blackburn's 111th and final pitch to right field, for a run-scoring single.

Since Rodriguez returned from hip surgery May 9, Teixeira has raised his average from .198 to .238.

"I'm just getting good pitches to hit," Teixeira said. "I got four good pitches to hit today [from Blackburn], and I didn't miss any."

Rodriguez didn't miss against Breslow, either. Breslow tried coming inside with a cut fastball, but Rodriguez drilled it into the left-field seats for his 555th home run.

While their bullpen options were limited, the Twins did have righthander Luis Ayala warming up. They showed what little faith they have in Ayala, by letting the lefthanded Breslow face Rodriguez.

"We weren't going to use Nathan, Crain and Mijares," Gardenhire said. "So we had [knuckleballer R.A.] Dickey left, we had Ayala left -- that's about it."

Asked if the Twins could use some bullpen reinforcements, Gardenhire grabbed his cell phone, suggesting that was a question for General Manager Bill Smith.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez was asked about the improvement Teixeira has made with Rodriguez hitting behind him.

"We're going to make a good team because he's lefty [actually a switch hitter] and I'm righty," Rodriguez said. "And more often than not, if he doesn't get you, I will."

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