It's been nearly 36 years since the Twins have endured the trauma of three consecutive walk-off defeats, and historic failures demand historic action.
That's Ron Gardenhire's feeling, anyway. The Twins manager made it clear that roster changes are afoot in his bullpen after the Yankees devastated Minnesota on Sunday for the third straight game. "We've got people looking right now to see if we can get something done," Gardenhire said. "We've got to have some help."
He said the Twins have front-office executives at Class AAA Rochester and Class AA New Britain, watching the organization's top pitching prospects in hopes of identifying someone who can help at the major-league level. Three Twins relievers own ERAs over 5.00, and Gardenhire said it's time for a shake-up.
"Right now, we've only got a couple of guys throwing good," the manager said.
YANKEES 3, TWINS 2: Kevin Slowey retired the first nine hitters he faced and allowed only two runs over 7 2/3 innings, but the Twins left the bases loaded in the seventh and eighth innings and suffered their third consecutive walk-off defeat. Johnny Damon smashed a Jesse Crain pitch into the right-field stands in the 10th inning, handing the Twins their sixth straight road loss.
