May 4, 2019

It’s the damn Yankees. Again.

Leave it to the New York Yankees to remind Twins fans around the world (OK, maybe) that although the team is off to one of its best starts in years, it’s still not quite good enough to beat the Bronx Bombers.

It wasn’t a blowout win for the Yanks, but they scored early and often for a 6-3 victory Friday night.

The Twins didn’t help themselves with two errors, including an extremely rare gaffe from fielder extraordinaire, Byron Buxton. Meanwhile, the offense was largely punchless, scoring three runs on four hits. Nelson Cruz supplied most of it with a two-run home run, his sixth.

Starter Kyle Gibson wasn’t terrible. He threw 100 pitches in five innings and gave up five runs, but only two were earned because of the errors.

“I don’t necessarily think it’s anything that’s a mental block for us right now. Over the past four years (the New York Yankees have) had some pretty good teams, obviously,” Gibson told the Associated Press. “It’s a home-field advantage. I don’t know what they’re doing here — but it doesn’t sound fair.”

Jake Odorizzi gets the ball Saturday.

Extra innings…

-How bad is it for the Twins when it comes to playing the Yankees? Pretty bad. Since 2002, including the playoffs, the Twins are 14-51 when playing at Yankee Stadium, according to AP.

-After the loss, the New York Post said “perhaps nothing solves the Yankees’ problems more than a visit from the Twins.”

-The Twins are now 19-11, but still have a two-game lead on the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central.

-Forget Friday’s game because the Twins beat the Houston Astros 8-2 on Thursday. The Twins scored eight runs on 10 hits, including seven extra-base hits: one home run, two triples and four doubles. Pitcher Jose Berrios is now 5-1 with a 2.91 ERA.

COMMENTS

Hi, I’m Rolf Boone, Twins fan.

I became a fan of the Minnesota Twins after a friendly wager in the early 1980s. I survived Ron Davis, the meltdown in Cleveland, Phil Bradley at the Kingdome and then marveled at a rising generation of stars and two World Series wins in 1987 and 1991. Brad Radke made the 1990s bearable, while Kirby Puckett’s eye injury, exit from the game and eventual death made it almost too much to bear. The new century ushered in more talent — Joe Mauer, Johan Santana, Joe Nathan, Torii Hunter, Justin Morneau — and consecutive seasons of playoff baseball, followed by consecutive seasons of losing baseball. A winning season returned in 2015. So here we are. Go Twins.