MINNEAPOLIS — It’s hard to kill a team that takes three out of four games in a series, but the Yankees’ 7-4 loss to the Twins Sunday afternoon at Target Field was all kinds of ugly.
Nathan Eovaldi, though a bit better than his three previous starts, still wasn’t good as he coughed up a 2-0 lead against MLB’s 2016 version of the Titanic.
Dellin Betances allowed an inherited runner to score and then one of his own, and Kirby Yates and Nick Goody completed a subpar day for the bullpen by each allowing a run.
Then there was the Yankee offense, held in check by Ervin Santana, who came in 1-7 with a 5.10 ERA.
It all swirled together for a messy loss on a sweltering 90-degree afternoon and gave the Yankees (34-35), who did get two solo homers from Brian McCann as a lone bright spot, a ho-hum 3-3 record on this trip that started with two losses in Colorado.
After an off-day Monday, the Yankees play the Rockies Tuesday and Wednesday at the Stadium, followed by three more against the rancid Twins (21-48), baseball’s worst team, Friday through Sunday.
Eovaldi, who had a allowed a combined 16 runs in his previous three starts, allowed four runs and six hits over 5 1⁄3 innings.
Santana allowed three runs — two earned — and six hits over 7 1⁄3 innings.
The Yankees led 2-0 until the fifth when Max Kepler led off with a home run, to that point just the third hit allowed by Eovaldi.
Things then suddenly came apart for the pitcher in the sixth, an inning that started with him striking out Joe Mauer.
Brian Dozier and Trevor Plouffe singled, putting runners at the corners, and Eduardo Escobar lined a 1-and-2 fastball down the rightfield line. Dozier scored easily and third base coach Gene Glynn waved Plouffe in. Carlos Beltran’s throw to McCann appeared to be in time to get the sliding Plouffe, but the Twins challenged. Replays showed Plouffe somehow avoided McCann’s swipe tag, giving Minnesota a 3-2 lead.
Girardi brought on Betances to face Kepler, and the rightfielder blooped a 2-and-0, 99-mph fastball to center for an RBI single that made it 4-2.
Kepler stole second and Kurt Suzuki followed by ripping a full-count curveball into the corner in left for an RBI double that made it 5-2.
Dozier’s two-out homer in the seventh off Yates made it 6-2.
The Twins being the Twins, they made it interesting in the eighth. After Ike Davis’ one-out single, Twins manager Paul Molitor called for lefthander Taylor Rogers to face Jacoby Ellsbury. The centerfielder sent a squibber to the left of the mound and Rogers, after fielding it, made a bad throw to first for an error. Brett Gardner followed with a routine grounder to first that went between Plouffe’s legs for an error that allowed Davis to score to make it 6-3. Rogers did strike out Beltran and righthander Brandon Kintzler struck out Alex Rodriguez to end the inning.
Goody allowed a double and RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to make it 7-3.
McCann’s second homer of the day, a blast off Kintzler in the ninth that gave him 10 on the season, made it 7-4.
..... - Newsday