The Yanks appeared to be headed to Minnesota tied up in the series, as they were stymied most of the game by Nick Blackburn, who led the league in hits allowed. Blackburn held the Yanks hitless for 4.2 innings before Robinson Cano broke up the no-no with a single to center. The Yanks were trailing 1-0 in the 6th when The Captain hit a ground rule double and ARod, yes, ARod, hit a 2-out RBI single to knock in Derek Jeter for the 3rd time this series.
The Twins went up 3-1 in the 8th when Phil Hughes had a meltdown after recording 2 quick outs. Hughes inexplicably walked Carlos Gomez, the proud owner of a paltry .287 OBP. Brendan Harris, who earlier in the game tripled in a run, singled to put runners on 1st and 3rd. I can live with that. But then, the inexcusable happened. Hughes allowed the weak-hitting Nick Punto who hit .228 this season to single in the go-ahead run with 2 strikes on a lollipop curve ball. For some reason, the Yanks can't figure out Punto who is 3-6 with 3 walks this series. What is going on? Meanwhile, Joe Girardi, as well as Yankee fans everywhere, had seen enough of Hughes and Mariano Rivera was brought in. He doused a little gasoline on the fire when he surrendered a run-scoring single to Denard Span to put the Twins up 3-1.
After mounting nothing in the 8th, only Joe Nathan stood in the way of the Yanks going up 2-0 are headed for a split. Tex finally broke his 0-7 in the series with a leadoff single. ARod, the target of much vitriol for his past playoff performances, calmly worked the count to 3-1 before depositing Nathan's waist-high fastball into the right field bullpen to tie the score at 3 and send Yankee Stadium into pandemonium and the game into extra frames.
Both teams had their chances to win the game in the 10th inning. After Alfredo Aceves retired the first 2 batters, he walked the "dangerous" Punto and allowed a hit to Span before bailing out of further trouble by setting down Orlando Cabrera. The Yanks even had a better chance of finishing the game in the 10th, when they had runners on the corners with 1 out. Johnny Damon lined a shot up the middle off the reliever's glove, but with the infield in, Cabrera caught the tip and doubled up pinch runner, Brett Gardner, off of 3B.
The 11th inning would bring controversy and anti-Yankee smearing across the nation due to a horrendous call by the left field umpire. Joe Mauer hit what appeared to be a ground rule double down the left field line, but umpire Phil Cuzzi, about 15-20 feet from the play, called it foul. Mauer singled on the next pitch. Jason Kubel also followed with a single and Joe Girardi brought in David Robertson to replace the ineffectual and useless Damaso Marte. Michael Cuddyer then lined a single up the middle, but for some unexplained reason, the Twins held up Mauer at 3B, and the Twins were cooking, with the bases loaded and none out. Mauer would never score. Robertson got a line out to Tex at first, a forceout from Tex to homeplate and then he retired Harris to escape the inning without a scratch.
This led to Tex' heroics, as he led off the bottom of the 11th with screaming line drive that hit the top of the LF wall and bounced over for the walkoff HR. It was pie-time for Tex as Burnett continued the Yankee walkoff tradition from the regular season and all was right in Yankeeland again.
Of course, there are detractors everywhere, including the Twins organzation, who are saying the blown call on Mauer's hit cost them the game. Apparently, none of those people watched the whole game. The Twins lost that game for countless other reasons, with Cuzzi's blown call being at the very bottom of that list. I present the following real reasons the Twins blew this game:
1. The Twins left a small village on base. 17 base runners were left stranded, as the Twins had at least 1 base runner in every single inning.
2. Carlos Gomez got nailed at 2B on a single, when he rounded the base, negating Delmon Young from scoring. Gomez was tagged out by, who else but, Derek Jeter, before Young could cross the plate.
3. Joe Nathan. This guy needs to change his shorts every time he faces the Yanks. He couldn't hold on to a 2-run lead and gave up a HR with a man on base for the first time all season. He was one of the biggest complainers about Mauer's hit being called foul, but let's focus on your own faults there, Joe. For his career, he is 0-4 with 3 blown saves and an ERA over 4.50 against the Bombers. Arguably, he is considered the 2nd best closer in the league after Mariano.
4. Mauer held up at third base on a single. For reasons I may never know, the Twins 3B coach held up Mauer on Cuddyer's hit to center, not challenging the pop gun arm of Brett Gardner. Mauer would have scored easily.
5. Bases loaded and no outs. Mauer still reached base. He even suggested maybe Kubel doesn't get a hit in that situation, because the Yanks had to cover Mauer at 1B, leaving a huge hole between 1st and 2nd, where Kubel hit the ball. They had bases loaded and no outs! They couldn't score. Hence, the Twins, not Phil Cuzzi, blew this game. They had ample opportunities to win this game. Perhaps every Twin should look at themselves in the mirror before whining about a non-call.
Yankees Postseason Record: 2-0
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