Twins drop ninth straight; Rivera sets saves record

The Yankees grabbed a 5-0 lead against the Twins and held on to send the Twins to their ninth straight loss.

A.J. Burnett pitched five innings to get the victory and Mariano Rivera recorded his 602nd career save, braking the career save record previously held by Trevor Hoffman.

Rivera struck out Chris Parmelee on a called third strike to end the game.

More details to come soon.

I almost didn't make it here.

I had a 3:05 p.m. flight yesterday on an unidentified airline. I arrived at MSP at 1:45 to a mass of humanity inside the main terminal.

You know that new security checkpoint No. 6 on the far end of the terminal? The line was so long that it backed up to the front of checkpoint No. 4. I missed my flight - the second flight I've missed since 1994 - because getting through security too so long.

So then the rep goes, ``I can waive the $150.00 change fee but you'll have to pay the difference in the cost of the tickets." .

What was that?: ``$992.00," the rep said.

Now I'm envisioning a phone call to my sports editor to ask for permission to spend $992.00 to watch Michael Cuddyer and the Rochester Rock Cats (I deliberately melded the two minor league teams) take on the twenty-something time World Champion Yankees. I envision getting in trouble.

I was given another option: Try to fly standby on a later flight to LaGuardia. I took the chance.

I approached the gate agent, who asked for my elite status. Since it wasn't something similar to titanium level, I wasn't allowed to fly stand by. I began to complain about the long security lines and how it made me late for my flight. ``Were you on the 3:05?" I was asked. When I said yes, I was asked to hand over my old ticket and was given a new one. I thought it was a stand-by ticket. It was a first class ticket.

Will check back soon with updates and lineups. Heard Jason Repko, who was hit in the head on Sunday, did not make the trip.

UPDATES

Twins (59-92)

1. Ben Revere, CF
2. Trevor Plouffe, SS
3. Michael Cuddyer, RF
4. Chris Parmelee, 1B
5. Danny Valencia, 3B
6. Brian Dinkelman, 2B
7. Luke Hughes, 3B
8. Joe Benson, LF
9. Rene Rivera, C

Pitching: Scott Diamond, LHP

1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Curtis Granderson, CF
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. A-Rod, 3B
5. Robinson Cano, 2B
6. Nick Swisher, RF
7. Andruw Jones, LF
8. Jesus Montero, DH
9. Russell Martin, C