| SEASON | CAREER |
| W16 | 52 |
| L12 | 35 |
| G30 | 150 |
| IP180.0 | 623.0 |
| BB43 | 200 |
| SO157 | 527 |
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W0 | 5 |
| L2 | 12 |
| G4 | 145 |
| IP20.0 | 157.0 |
| BB15 | 95 |
| SO8 | 128 |
The New York Yankees are on a roll, and their seemingly favorable schedule could eventually result in another AL East title.
Phil Hughes is looking to continue his own strong stretch on the mound, and the offense may be of some help again.
Hughes goes for a fourth straight winning start as the Yankees' bats look to continue their dominance of the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.
New York (89-64) has won eight of nine to move 1 1/2 games ahead of second-place Baltimore in the East race with nine games left, one more than the Orioles.
The Yankees appear to have the inside track to win the division since their remaining schedule is against three teams assured of losing seasons - Minnesota (64-90), Toronto and Boston.
Including a pair of postseason sweeps, they've won 26 of 32 games against the Twins while hitting .290 with 52 homers.
New York hit four homers and finished with five extra-base hits in Monday's 6-3 win in the series opener.
"Right now I feel like everything is kind of rolling for us. It's real calm in here. It's relaxed. Guys are having a ton of fun," said Nick Swisher , who is 10 for 26 with three homers and nine RBIs in seven games after hitting a two-run shot Monday.
Hughes (16-12, 4.05 ERA) has certainly benefited from the Yankees' impressive production, which includes a major league-leading 229 homers.
The right-hander has been backed by 5.6 runs per start this season, one reason why he owns the highest ERA of any major leaguer with at least 15 wins.
The offense has provided him with 9.3 runs of support during his current win streak while he's compiled a 2.95 ERA. He hasn't managed a longer streak since a career-high five-game run from May 28-June 19, 2010.
The bats bailed Hughes out again Thursday, when he gave up four runs with three walks in five innings of a 10-7 win over Toronto.
"Changeup command came and went. Fastball was kind of all over the place," Hughes said. "It was a nice night to get a lot of runs because I definitely needed it."
The same can be said for Hughes' last meeting with the Twins on April 19, when he gave up six runs - two earned - in 5 1-3 innings of a 7-6 victory.
Overall, he's 2-0 with a 2.66 ERA in five games - three starts - against Minnesota.
Derek Jeter is hitting .370 during his season-high 18-game hitting streak, and he has a .365 average in his last 53 overall meetings with the Twins. The superstar shortstop has hit safely in 48 of those matchups.
Raul Ibanez is 7 for 16 in four meetings this year after getting two hits, including a solo homer Monday. He's homered three times in three games, going 7 for 12 and driving in five runs.
Minnesota, which has lost four in a row at home, is giving Esmerling Vasquez (0-2, 6.75) a fifth chance at his first victory of the season. He's failed to complete six innings in each of his past four trips to the mound.
The right-hander was chased with two outs in the sixth after surrendering three runs and six hits with three walks in Thursday's 4-3, 10-inning loss at Cleveland.
Vasquez's only meeting with the Yankees was catastrophic relief appearance in a loss with Arizona on June 22, 2010. He was roughed up for five runs while failing to manage an out in a six-run eighth.
@
@
AVG
HRRUNSSBSOBBOBPSLGOPS
VS.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Robinson Cano | 1 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2.000 | 1.000 |
| Raul Ibanez | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | .000 |
| Derek Jeter | 1 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2.000 | 1.000 |
| Russell Martin | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .333 | .333 | .000 |
| Alex Rodriguez | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | .000 |
| Chris Stewart | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Nick Swisher | 1 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 3.000 | 2.000 |
| Mark Teixeira | 1 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2.000 | 1.000 |
VS.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Jamey Carroll | 3 | .333 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 | .666 | .333 |
| Alexi Casilla | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Ryan Doumit | 3 | .667 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .667 | 2.334 | 1.667 |
| Joe Mauer | 9 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Justin Morneau | 7 | .286 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | .444 | 1.587 | 1.143 |
| Chris Parmelee | 2 | .500 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | 1.500 | 1.000 |
| Trevor Plouffe | 2 | .500 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 2.667 | 2.000 |
| Ben Revere | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Denard Span | 5 | .400 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .500 | .900 | .400 |
| Clete Thomas | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Danny Valencia | 6 | .167 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .167 | .500 | .333 |
| Josh Willingham | 7 | .143 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | .250 | .393 | .143 |
 New York Yankees |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| September 19, 2012 | Dellin Betances | 60-Day DL | Right shoulder injury |
| September 09, 2012 | Mark Teixeira | Day-to-Day | Strained left calf |
| September 02, 2012 | Curtis Granderson | Day-to-Day | Right hamstring tendinitis |
| August 27, 2012 | Mark Teixeira | Day-to-Day | Strained left calf |
| August 22, 2012 | Ivan Nova | 15-Day DL | Right shoulder tightness |
| August 22, 2012 | Ivan Nova | 15-Day DL | Right shoulder tightness |
 Minnesota Twins |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| September 11, 2012 | Joe Mauer | Day-to-Day | Back spasms |
| September 09, 2012 | Cole De Vries | 15-Day DL | Cracked rib |
| September 02, 2012 | Josh Willingham | Day-to-Day | Slightly strained left hamstring |
| August 28, 2012 | Denard Span | 15-Day DL | Strained right sternoclavicular joint |
| August 28, 2012 | Denard Span | 15-Day DL | Strained right sternoclavicular joint |
| August 24, 2012 | Josh Willingham | Day-to-Day | Stiff neck |
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- As Phil Hughes labored through the seventh inning, Joe Girardi saw reliable lefty Boone Logan warming in the bullpen, a string of four straight left-handed hitters for the Minnesota Twins due up and the Baltimore Orioles already losers to Toronto.
With a 3-1 lead and the bases loaded, Girardi decided to play it safe, and it cost the New York Yankees .
Logan couldn't hold the lead for Hughes as the Yankees missed a chance to go up 2 1/2 games on Baltimore in a 5-4 loss to the Twins on Tuesday night.
"It's tough," Hughes said. "I feel like I was throwing the ball well. It's a tough one to lose."
Hughes (16-13) was strong through six innings and the Yankees jumped out to a 3-1 lead. But he left with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh.
"The inning was so long and he'd worked so hard, and Boonie had done a good job in his career against Span, I decided to go with him," Girardi said.
Logan let one run score on a wild pitch before giving up a two-run double to Denard Span that put the Twins in front for good.
Joe Mauer followed with his third single of the game to cap the four-run seventh, and the Twins held on to keep the Orioles, who lost to Toronto earlier on Tuesday, 1 1/2 games back of New York in the AL East.
"It's easy to look back and criticize when your lefty who has been money all year doesn't get it done," catcher Russell Martin said. "I have to block the ball. That's what changed the inning."
Nick Swisher homered for the third straight game, Martin also went deep and Andruw Jones hit a pinch-hit solo shot off of closer Glen Perkins in the ninth inning for the Yankees. But Perkins struck out Jayson Nix for his 15th save.
Martin's soaring shot in the seventh off of Casey Fien (2-1) in the seventh was his 19th of the season, which ties a career high, and gave New York a 3-1 lead.
But Hughes ran into trouble in the bottom of the inning after allowing just one run on four hits in the first six. With much better command of his fastball and changeup than he's had lately, Fien retired nine of the next 10 batters after giving up an RBI double to Chris Parmelee in the fourth.
Then things went a little haywire for the 26-year-old right-hander. He gave up a single to Ryan Doumit , walked Parmelee and Jamey Carroll reached on an infield hit with one out to load the bases.
With Hughes at 99 pitches, Yankees manager Joe Girardi went to the lefty Logan to face a string of four straight left-handed hitters in the Twins lineup. Logan's first pitch was wild, getting by Martin to allow Doumit to score. Span followed with the double and Mauer the single to raise his average to .326, just behind Triple Crown candidate Miguel Cabrera (.329) in the American League.
Hughes said he wanted to stay in the game.
"I was hoping so," he said. "But I don't make those decisions. I pitch until I'm told to."
Logan said his slider just wasn't as sharp as it normally is.
"I was trying to battle through it but just had a bad game," he said.
It was a disappointing finish for Hughes, who has won three straight starts and was appearing to pick up steam with the postseason just over a week away. He finished with four runs on six hits and four strikeouts in 6 2-3 innings.
Derek Jeter extended his hitting streak to 19 games with a single in the first inning and Robinson Cano went 3 for 3 with a walk for the Yankees, who could have opened their largest division lead since Sept. 1.
Esmerling Vasquez gave up two runs on seven hits with five strikeouts in six innings for the Twins.
On the bright side for the Yankees, the loss didn't let Baltimore gain any ground.
"We had an opportunity," Girardi said. "But you can look at it the other way, too. We've got to come out and win the series tomorrow."
NOTES: On Monday night, Curtis Granderson joined Babe Ruth , Lou Gehrig , Mickey Mantle and Jason Giambi as the only Yankees to hit 40-plus HRs in back-to-back seasons. "Especially with the number of guys that have played for the Yankees and put the pinstripes on, at least for one sentence I get to get mentioned with those guys," Granderson said. "That's pretty cool." ... Twins OF Josh Willingham did not play because of a strained left shoulder. ... Mauer had only thrown out seven of 56 base runners on the season, but he went 2 for 2 on Tuesday night, getting Ichiro Suzuki and Martin on strike-em-out, throw-em-out double plays in the third and fourth. ... The Twins send RHP Samuel Deduno (6-5, 4.54) to the mound on Wednesday for the finale against LHP CC Sabathia (13-6, 3.47).
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New York Yankees