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Sabathia leads Yanks over Twins

Sep 27, 2012 - 6:17 AM Minneapolis, MN (Sports Network) - CC Sabathia tossed eight strong innings to lead the New York Yankees past the Minnesota Twins, 8-2, in the rubber match of a three-game set at Target Field.

Sabathia (14-6) allowed two runs on six hits and a walk with 10 strikeouts to snap a five-start winless streak. He improved to 10-0 over his last 11 starts against the Twins.

"I felt pretty good. The command on the fastball was there today," Sabathia said. "That's what felt good, being able to go out there and command the ball. The fastball command was great and everything works off of that."

Chris Dickerson hit a two-run homer, while Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson also knocked in a pair of runs for the Yankees, who sit 1 1/2 games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles for the top spot in the AL East.

The Orioles beat Toronto later Wednesday.

Samuel Deduno got the start for the Twins, but was removed with two outs in the second inning with left eye irritation. He walked two and struck out two before exiting.

Brian Duensing (4-11) replaced Deduno and surrendered six runs on five hits and two walks over an inning of work to take the loss for Minnesota, which has dropped four of its last seven.

Minnesota struck first in the second inning when Ryan Doumit led off the frame with a single, advanced to second on a Chris Parmelee groundout and came home on Matt Carson's base hit up the middle.

The Yankees, though, answered in the third after loading the bases with one out on singles by Dickerson and Ichiro Suzuki, and a Derek Jeter walk.

Cano then lined a double off the right-field wall to plate Dickerson and Suzuki before Nick Swisher singled in Jeter, and Granderson brought home Cano and Swisher with a triple into the right-field corner.

Granderson raced home on a Duensing wild pitch to give New York a 6-1 advantage.

"When they throw a six-spot on you, that's not how you want it go," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "They blooped some, they blopped some, and they hit some. We couldn't stop them in that inning."

After the Twins left a pair of runners on second and third in the fifth inning, the Yankees added to their lead in the sixth with Dickerson's two-run blast to right field.

Raul Ibanez hit a leadoff double prior to Dickerson's second home run of the season.

Three straight two-out singles by Jamey Carroll, Alexi Casilla and Pedro Florimon Jr. in the seventh inning brought Minnesota within 8-2, but they would get no closer as Cody Eppley tossed a scoreless ninth.

Game Notes

Each member of the Yankees' starting lineup reached base in the game ... Jeter went 0-for-4 to snap a 19-game hit streak ... Sabathia improved to 16-8 in 32 career starts against Minnesota ... New York won the season series between the teams, 4-3. The Twins have not won the season series between the teams since taking 4-of-6 meetings in 2001 ... The Yankees improved their record to 90-65. They have recorded at least 90 wins in 11 of the last 12 seasons.