Rodriguez powers Yankees past Twins

Sep 2, 2006, 2:55 GMT

Bronx, NY - Alex Rodriguez blasted a pair of home runs, and Cory Lidle hurled six shutout innings as New York crushed Minnesota, 8-1, in the opener of a three-game set at Yankee Stadium.

Rodriguez finished 3-for-5 with three runs batted in for the Yankees, who won for the third time in four games and remained eight games ahead of Boston in the American League East. Derek Jeter finished 3-of-5 with two runs scored while Bobby Abreu was also 3-for-5 with two RBI.

Lidle (3-2) allowed just two hits and fanned four en route to the win.

'Tonight he was painting the corners really well and gave us a great six innings,' Yankees manager Joe Torre said of Lidle. 'He's going to fight and he rarely leaves pitches over the fat part of the plate.'

Justin Morneau was 2-for-4 with an RBI double for the Twins, who lost for the fourth time in five games but remained just one-half game behind Chicago in the A.L. wild card race. Joe Mauer and Michael Cuddyer were the only other Twins to record a hit.

Carlos Silva (8-13) lasted just four innings and allowed six runs -- four earned -- on nine hits and picked up the loss.

'He was getting ground balls,' Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said of Silva. 'It wasn't pretty but he was getting it done until he started getting the ball up. If we made a few plays for him it might have been a different outcome.'

The Yankees jumped on top when Rodriguez led off the second with his 28th home run of the year.

New York then extended its advantage in the third. Jeter grounded a single up the middle, swiped second and crossed the plate when Abreu lined a single to center.

The Yankees took control with a four-run fifth. Three consecutive singles by Johnny Damon, Jeter and Abreu made it 3-0. Jason Giambi then loaded the bases when he reached on a Morneau error, and Rodriguez followed by grounding a sharp single up the middle to plate another run.

Gardenhire had seen enough of Silva at that point and went to Matt Guerrier. The reliever managed to fan Jorge Posada but Robinson Cano grounded a single past the right side to score Abreu. Aaron Guiel's RBI grounder capped the scoring in the frame with New York holding a 6-0 edge.

The Yankees kept pouring it on from there. Rodriguez led off the seventh by blasting his second homer of the game. Later in the inning, Melky Cabrera lined an RBI single to left that made it an 8-0 game.

Minnesota spoiled the shutout in the ninth off T.J. Beam when Morneau knocked in Cuddyer with an RBI double.

Game Notes

Mauer broke an 0-16 slump with a single in the fourth inning.

Rodriguez homered in his second consecutive game and now has 43 multi-homer games in his career.

With the victory, the Yankees clinched a winning season at home for the 15th consecutive year. That is the longest current streak in the majors. Boston is second with eight straight winning seasons at home.

Silva is now 1-1 in three starts in his career against the Yankees.

Lidle has faced the Twins eight times (six starts) in his career and is 2-3 against them.

The Twins took two of three from the Yankees in mid-April, but are just 7-16 in the series since the start of the 2003 campaign. Minnesota has also struggled in the Bronx, where it has won just once in its last 10 visits.

With rosters expanding to 40, the Yankees recalled Beam, catcher Wil Nieves and pitcher Jose Veras from their Triple-A affiliate in Columbus before the game.

© 2006 The Sports Network