Left-handed pitcher Glen Perkins couldn't find his fastball or his changeup and because of that, Minnesota's starter couldn't find his way out of the fifth inning Friday night. Perkins lasted just four innings and was pulled after facing two batters in the fifth without recording an out.
His four-inning start marked the first time in his five starts this season that he didn't make it through at least the sixth inning. "It was an internal battle for me tonight, not getting my fastball over early and not locating my changeup whatsoever," said Perkins, now 2-2 with a 3.90 ERA. "Against a team like this, veteran guys, they're going to take advantage of that."
Perkins, who took the mound in the second with a three-run lead, gave up five runs on 10 hits. New York recorded seven of those 10 hits in two-strike counts and six of them on off-speed pitches. Perkins said he took the mound with the same plan he had in his last start -- when he defeated the Detroit Tigers by pitching them inside early and establishing his off-speed pitches.
The plan might not have worked, but right fielder Michael Cuddyer watched with sympathy from his post in the outfield.
"It's a tough lineup to have to pitch to," said Michael Cuddyer, who went 1-for-4 with a run scored and a run batted in. "You can't make a mistake. They grind you, they work you... I don't envy the pitcher having to go up against a lineup like that just because of the type of hitters and the professional hitters that they are."
TWINS 5, YANKEES 6: Minnesota recorded four runs on four singles against New York's Mike Mussina Friday, but mustered just two hits and no more runs for the rest of Mussina's start. Justin Morneau brought the score within one run with his leadoff home run in the eighth inning, but Minnesota couldn't manage any more offense.
