NEW YORK — Rocco Baldelli planned to attend an outdoor Wilco concert in Queens on Saturday night. Can't blame him if he sang along with Jeff Tweedy on "Hate it Here."
Nevertheless, he'll have to come back. With Hurricane Henri expected to make landfall in the northeast United States overnight, the Yankees preemptively postponed Sunday's finale of the four-game series until Sept. 13.
The Twins hope their charter flight can depart Sunday morning for Boston, where they open a three-game series in Fenway Park on Tuesday. "I've seen situations where teams jump on the bus or on a train, things like that," said Baldelli, who warned his players to take all their personal possessions with them after Saturday's game, in case the team didn't return to Yankee Stadium on Sunday. "We might just end up waiting an extra day. There's a lot of possibilities right now."
The makeup game is the second one-day road trip the Twins will take over the season's final five weeks. They must return to Detroit on Aug. 30, in the middle of a Target Field homestand, to make up a game lost to weather in July. And now they'll have to return to Yankee Stadium, where they have lost 19 of their past 21 games, and been swept this weekend by a total score of 24-8.
"The environment here is a different environment. It's very good for the home team," said Baldelli, whose teams went 5-22 at old and new Yankee Stadium during his playing career. "It's not like you walk out here and feel like you're in a very friendly [place]. You're not going to think that."
Maeda leaves early
Kenta Maeda was unhappy with the Yankees' two hits, both to spots where the defense had shifted away, when pitching coach Wes Johnson visited the mound in the fifth inning Saturday. But he showed no signs of physical trouble.
That changed right away. Maeda's next nine pitches were nowhere near the strike zone, and one skittered back to the screen, a run-scoring wild pitch. When his first pitch to Giancarlo Stanton with the bases loaded was also a misfire, Maeda signaled for trainer Michael Salazar and Baldelli, who immediately removed him from the game.
"Up until that point, there was really not a lot to point to as far as health questions," Baldelli said. "He did look uncomfortable right before we took him out. But command of pitches normally would be one of the first things that would go when someone is dealing with something physically."