Masahiro Tanaka had a rough last outing of the spring, surrendering three earned runs in 4 1/3 innings as the Yankees dropped a pitcher's duel to the Twins, 3-1, Tuesday in Fort Myers.
Tanaka Struggles: Tanaka was cruising up until two outs in the bottom of the third, when he gave up a double to Eduardo Escobar and a single to Chris Herrmann to put the Twins on top. He then allowed two more runs in the fourth and fifth -- ending with an unfavorable final line of seven hits, one walk and one strikeout.
Flores' Clutch Knock: Following a Chris Young single and a Rob Refsnyder walk, Ramon Flores lined a Tommy Milone fastball to center with two outs in the fourth -- scoring Young easily from second to even the game at one. It was Flores' eighth RBI of the month and sixth since last Tuesday -- accounting for the only time the Yankees reached third on the afternoon.
Martin's Nice Performance: It's been a tough preseason so far for Chris Martin, but at least in this one, the Yankees invitee pitched to his potential. He shutout the Twins for a full two innings after Tanaka's removal -- retiring each of the six batters he faced while striking out three.
Gardner Shows Promise: Brett Gardner went 1-for-2 with a walk in three plate appearances against Milone -- his walk being one of just two the lefty issued in the contest. As for his hit, it came on a seeing eye single in the Yankees' half of the third -- a slow grounder to right that just made it past a dive by the first baseman.
Rally Falls Short: Down 3-1 in the top of the ninth, the Yankees put two men on with two out for the .219-hitting Nick Noonan -- who proceeded to strike out swinging on a 3-2 offering to strand the tying runners. The punch-out wrapped up an 0-for-4 day at the dish for Noonan, and clinched a 26-pitch save for Twins right-hander Casey Fien.
Next Up: The Yankees will send Chase Whitley to the hill Wednesday when they host the Rays at Steinbrenner Field -- a matchup set to air live on YES and on tape delay on MLB Network. Jordan Norberto is expected to get the nod for Tampa Bay when the action begins at 1:05 p.m. ET -- the last exhibition meeting the two clubs will have this year.