Oh, Francisco. No.
Francisco Cervelli give and Francisco Cervelli taketh away. In the fifth inning, Cervelli drove in the Yankees' only run. Without that hit, the game would have been over a lot earlier. David Phelps pitched really well, but couldn't quite shut out the Twins, meaning the game went to extra innings. And that's where bad Cervelli happened. In the bottom of the 11th with the bases loaded, Cervelli airmailed a throw to first on a potential inning-ending double play. That allowed the game-winning run to score as the Twins won 2-1. Oops.
Early in the game, neither team could get anything substantial going on offense. Through four innings, the Yankees had just one hit. The Twins had a couple more, but Phelps was doing a pretty good job of stranding the couple runners that did get on.
In the top of the fifth, the Yankees finally picked up the game's first run. Carlos Beltran led off the inning with a walk. Ichiro Suzuki then came up next. Ichiro grounded into a force out at second, but his speed allowed him to make it to first without a throw. Alfonso Soriano then struck out, bringing Cervelli to the plate. During Cervelli's at bat, Ichiro stole second. Despite it appearing that Ichiro was out on the play, the Twins didn't review. Ichiro was then able to move to third on a wild pitch. Cervelli then punched a single to left, scoring Ichiro to make it 1-0.
Following a couple early hits, Phelps cruised for the next few innings. After walking Kurt Suzuki in the third, Phelps would retire the next 11 hitters he faced. Until the bottom of the seventh.
The first hitter Phelps faced in the seventh inning would be Josh Willingham. Phelps allowed a solo home run to Willingham, tying the score at one. Phelps got out of the seventh inning without allowing another run, but that would be it for him. He went seven innings, allowing just one run on three hits and two walks. Pretty good performance from him.
Shawn Kelley came in to pitch the eighth. The first man up in the eighth was Brian Dozier and that at bat turned into a Soriano derp show. Early in the at bat, Dozier popped one up near the foul line in left. Soriano and Derek Jeter both converged on the ball before Soriano called for it. Jeter veered off and Soriano proceeded to not catch the ball. Luckily for him, it landed in foul territory. However, a few pitches later, Dozier hit another fly ball towards Soriano. Soriano again managed to get to the ball in time, but this time, the ball hit off his glove and dropped in, allowing Dozier to get on base. After that, Suzuki also singled, putting two on with nobody out. Jacoby Ellsbury then showed Soriano how to catch a baseball, when he made a sliding catch for the first out, preventing a run from scoring. Kelley would strike out the next two hitters to get out of the jam and keep the score tied at one.
After the Yankees couldn't score in the top of the ninth, Kelley pitched a scoreless bottom half to send the game to extra innings.
In the top of the tenth, the Yankees again couldn't score a run. Matt Thornton was brought in to begin the bottom of the tenth. Sam Fuld led off the inning with a single that went off Thornton's glove. Despite the lead-off single, Thornton got out of it, thanks in part to him picking off Fuld. Onto the 11th we went.
In the top of the 11th, surprise, surprise, the Yankees failed to score. Thornton came back out to start the eleventh and gave up a double to pinch-hitter Chris Colabello. Kendrys Morales then grounded out, but it was enough to move Colabello to third. They then opted to intentionally walk Willingham. Which was followed by Oswaldo Arcia getting hit with a pitch to load the bases. Thornton then got just what he needed when Trevor Plouffe hit a soft grounder in front of the pitcher's mound. Thornton flipped it to home for the first out. Cervelli then tried to go to first for the double play. He completely airmailed the throw, allowing Willingham to score the game-winning run. The Twins came away with a weird 2-1 win. It was a loss for the Yankees, but at least it was a new and interesting way to lose. So there's that.
The Yankees and Twins will finish up their series tomorrow at 2 eastern. Hiroki Kuroda and Ricky Nolasco will be the starting pitchers.