One hit short and one pitch too many

Last night, Hiroki Kuroda started the game by allowing four runs to score against him in the first inning. None of his innings after that were especially good, leaving me to wonder why Girardi didn't take him out in the third. The bullpen has been taxed lately, but if you want to give your team a chance to win, you need to do today what you think will give you a win today. Thinking ahead may help you, but it Hughes pitches seven shutout innings tonight, what will that have done to save the bullpen?

The Yankees came out swinging last night against Marquis, scoring three runs against him in the first inning and another run thanks to a Cano home run later in the game. In between, the Yankees got runners on but failed to drive them in, a tune that is all too familiar for the Yankees this season. Swisher came up with runners on the corners in the seventh inning but failed to drive either of them in. Jeter hit a home run in the ninth, keeping his bat hot at the right time, but the Yankees failed to score another run that would send it to extra innings when Teixeira flied out to right fielder Clete Thomas.

Tonight, the Yankees need to prove that they are the dominant team and send the Twins into Tampa Bay with a loss. A split of the series would suffice for the Yankees, even though it would only make their record 7-6 on the year. Hughes needs to prove that he belongs in the rotation. With Andy Pettitte being only weeks away from a return, a good start tonight may move the rotation cloud questions over to Freddy Garcia for five days.

Tonight's lineup:

Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Nick Swisher RF
Raul Ibanez LF
Russell Martin C
Eduardo Nunez 2B

SP: Phil Hughes, 0-2, 9,00 ERA