To say that the New York Yankees have "owned" the Minnesota Twins during the Ron Gardenhire era would be a disservice to how dominant New York has been over that stretch. The Yankees have absolutely dominated the Twins since Gardenhire took over as manager, and Friday night was a microcosm of that dominance.
The Twins managed just two hits against Yankees pitching on Friday night at Target Field, getting thrashed by New York to the tune of 8-1. The loss dropped the Twins' record against the Yankees since Gardenhire became the team's manager to 19-62 (including the post-season), a staggering 43 games under .500.
Minnesota actually got off to an early lead against the Yankees, as Trevor Plouffe launched a solo home run in the bottom of the first off of Yankees' starter Phil Hughes (4-4, 5.75 ERA) to give the Twins a 1-0 lead. However, the Twins would not get another hit until Luke Hughes' single in the eighth inning.
In the meantime, the Yankees were busy pounding returning Twins' starter Kevin Slowey (0-1, 6.20 ERA). Slowey, who had not pitched at all for the Twins since May 20, gave up six runs on nine hits in 5.2 innings of work on the evening. Included in that were two home runs given up to the Yankees' ninth batter in the lineup, catcher Russell Martin, accounting for three of the six runs that Slowey allowed. Anthony Swarzak allowed two runs on four hits in three innings of relief.
The Twins will, once again, fight the (seemingly) unbeatable foe on Saturday night at Target Field, as they will take on the Yankees in the third of this four-game series, with first pitch from Target Field scheduled for 6:10 PM Central time. The Yankees will give the ball to right-hander A.J. Burnett (9-9, 4.61 ERA), while the Twins will counter with the always entertaining (seemingly in a different way each start) Francisco Liriano (8-9, 5.12 ERA).