Recap: Yankees 8, Twins 5

Alex Rodriguez clubbed three home runs and the Yankees rallied themselves to a memorable win over the Twins, 8-5, on Saturday night at Target Field.

A-Rod Goes Off: The Yankees' DH hit a solo shot in the fourth, a two-run bomb in the seventh, and another solo blast in the ninth to tie the game -- leading New York back from a 5-0 third-inning defecit. His first two long balls were responsible for all but one of the Yankees' runs against starter Tommy Milone, though his third -- a line drive to straightaway center off closer Glen Perkins -- seemed to be what finally gave the team the upper hand.

A Starter in the Bullpen: His role with the Pinstripes has certainly been reduced since Ivan Nova's return, but Adam Warren nonetheless continues to contribute. Following CC Sabathia's removal with the bases loaded and two out in the sixth, Warren struck out Aaron Hicks to end the threat -- proceeding to throw two more scoreless frames afterward for his first victory in relief this season.

Murphy Hit a Home Run? What?: Yep, John Ryan Murphy went deep in this one. With the score still even at five and men on the corners in the ninth, the youngster launched a go-ahead three-run homer into the right-center field seats -- his first big fly of the year and second in the major leagues.

CC Struggles: Sabathia looked to be on the path to improvement prior to Saturday's outing, but his 5.2-inning, five-run performance was discouraging to say the least. The Twins cracked six hits off him while walking three times, raising the veteran's ERA to a hefty 5.38.

Other Help: Mark Teixeira essentially created a run by himself in the seventh, doubling to center and scoring on a shallow sac fly by Chase Headley. 

As usual, Andrew Miller had no problem earning the save in a 1-2-3 ninth -- the lefty's third consecutive appearance of 10 pitches or fewer.

Yankees' Record: 54-42.

Next Up: The Yankees and Twins conclude this weekend series with an afternoon finale on Sunday -- beginning at 2:10 p.m. ET and airing live on the YES Network. Nathan Eovaldi (9-2, 4.43 ERA) will start for the Yanks hoping to finish his month strongly, while surprise right-hander Kyle Gibson (8-7, 3.19 ERA) will get the ball for the Twins.

While We Wait: MLB’s Best & Worst from the month of May

You probably already know that Bryce Harper led the majors with 13 homers in May and perhaps even that Ricky Nolasco, Max Scherzer, and A.J. Burnett led the majors with five May wins. Or that the Giants won 21 games in May and the Red Sox, Marlins, and Athletics each lost 19 games in the month, but here are some May leaders and losers you may not know about:

The Mets did not hit for the cycle in May. The team totaled 214 hits including 35 doubles and 28 homers, but no triples.

For those teams scouting Cole Hamels, there was plenty to judge. Hamels threw 650 pitches in May, second only to free agent-to-be David Price, who threw 656.

Windy City, indeed. The Cubs swung and missed 576 times in May, striking out 226 times - most of any club.

The Cardinals got their money's worth out of Seth Maness - the reliever appeared in 16 games, more than any other pitcher.

Corey Kluber pitched 42 2/3 innings in May and struck out 60 batters (walking just six) while Michael Pineda pitched 33 innings and walked just three (striking out 35).

Jason Kipnis got off to a slow start this season hitting just .218 in April, turn the calendar to May and he was baseball's leading hitter - batting .429 and reaching base 73 times, more than any other batter.

Moneyball still lives in Oakland. The A's were the only team without a sacrifice bunt in May.

The crazy eights of May included Twins starter Kyle Gibson inducing eight double plays while Joe Mauer and Ryan Zimmerman each hit into eight DPs.

Red Sox DH David Ortiz batted .214 in May, part of an anemic Boston offensive attack. Barely beating – the heart of the Red Sox batting order (the 3-4-5 hitters) combined to hit .216 in May, the lowest of any team.

Pitcher Tyson Ross has no future as a night watchman - in May, he allowed 14 stolen bases.

Colorado's Charlie Blackmon had a rocky month of May, getting hit by seven pitches.

Kolten Wong, Kipnis, and A.J. Pollock each had 16 hits from the seventh inning on, the most in May baseball.

Dee Gordon stole a dozen bases in May, which is more than 10 team totals, and more than twice as many as the Dodgers, who only stole five.

The A's watched a lot baseball in May – actually they watched 907 pitches for called strikes, the most of any team. The Royals took only 572 strikes all month.

Paul Goldschmidt and Kipnis each had 19 two-strike hits, while Tim Hudson, John Danks, and Ian Kennedy each allowed 19 two-strike hits.

Ichiro Suzuki continued his drive to 3,000 hits with 18 hits, all singles, the most hits without an extra-base hit of any May batter.

Joc Pederson struck out 20 times leading off an inning.

Brandon Crawford had 16 hits with runners in scoring position, more than any other May batter.

Yunel Escobar had 14 first-pitch hits in May, the most of any batter.

Goldschmidt drew three intentional walks in Arizona's last game in May. Goldschmidt had nine IBB in the month, the most of any batter.

Jose Quintana and Chris Tillman each endured five losses.

Blue Jays pitchers only picked up one save in the entire month; then again, they led the majors with four complete games.

Glen Perkins of the Twins earned 13 saves in the month, Minnesota had 14, the most of any team

April showers brings May flowers, but the White Sox' Tyler Flowers only hit .188 with one homer and five RBI in 21 games in May.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2015/06/01/major-league-baseball-may-leaders-players-of-the-month-trends/28303027/

Girardi: Betances Should've Pitched in All Star Game

After Tuesday's All Star Game concluded without Yankees Reliever Dellin Betances ever getting a chance to pitch, the youngster made sure the media knew that he wasn't upset about what transpired.

The 26-year-old rookie, currently 4-0 with a 1.42 ERA, was the only non-starter on the AL team who wasn't used, an unlucky happening you'd expect to at least frustrate him.

However, so far that doesn't appear to be the case, although his Manager Joe Girardi has now come out and claimed that all players on the roster should play, an opinion he recently revealed to The Star Ledger's Kevin Manahan.

"I would have liked to have seen him get in," Girardi said Saturday. "Obviously, you don't want to see him go two or three innings, but I understand that. You have to hold somebody back. That's why I talk about if you go, you should get a chance to play in the game. I really do. But that is not the way it is."

In the Mid Summer Classic's top of the ninth, Red Sox Manager John Farrell put in Twins' Closer Glen Perkins to finish things, even allowing him to get three outs. 

Now while Farrell's wanting to please the home crowd here is understandable, letting one man go a full inning is not exactly common, making Girardi's argument legitimate.

It would've been easy for Farell to let Betances face a hitter in that last frame, but instead the former seemed to be more concerned with a perfect ending, something most competitive sports simply aren't about.

Betances Not Upset That He Didn't Get to Pitch in the ASG

When an underrated rookie like Dellin Betances makes the All Star Game, it's not unreasonable to believe that he should get a chance to pitch. 

Betances, a 26-year-old prospect who was originally expected to start during his big league career, has put together a 4-0 record and a 1.46 ERA so far in 2014, stats that only get better when you consider that 84 (50.6%) of the 166 outs he's recorded have come via the strikeout.

Still, during last night's Mid-Summer Classic Red Sox Manager John Farrell decided not to use the youngster, something that apparently doesn't bother him, with the Yanks' prized right-hander saying afterwards that he enjoyed the experience despite not getting to pitch. 

"I would have loved to pitch, but I enjoyed it," Betances told Newsday's Erik Boland. "Next year hopefully if things go my way, hopefully I get to participate again."

In the contest's ninth inning, in order to please the home crowd, the aforementioned Farrell allowed Twins' Reliever Glen Perkins to end things, an act that probably didn't need to happen.

Yes, Perkins should've been able to finish the ballgame, but since he was just one of two non-starters to get more than two outs on the night you have to wonder if letting him throw for that long was necessary, as Betances as well as Toronto's Mark Buehrle were still eligible to contribute.