Rasner solid, but takes loss for Yankees

Staff and and Wire Reports

Darrell Rasner took another tough loss for the New York Yankees in a 4-2 defeat against the Minnesota Twins in Minnesota on Wednesday.

Delmon Young's three-run home run off of Rasner, a 1999 Carson High graduate, was the difference.

Prior to Young's fourth-inning home run off of Rasner, Robinson Cano was charged with an error for coming off second base on a fielder's-choice throw, accounting for an unearned run.

With Rasner in his fourth inning of work, catcher Ivan Rodriguez trudged for a mound visit to work carefully to Young, but the outfielder teed off on a 2-1 cutter to right-center " his seventh homer of the season and second in less than 24 hours, having touched Mariano Rivera for a game-tying blast in the eighth inning on Tuesday.

"I left it up a little bit, and he put a good swing on it and hit it to the right part of the ballpark," Rasner said. "It was up, and that was the trouble. If it was down, I think it's a different story."

Reinserted into the Yankees' rotation after Ian Kennedy's struggles and Joba Chamberlain's injury, Rasner lasted five innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits while walking one and striking out four. It was another tough decision for Rasner, who is 2-8 in his past 13 starts but once again would have fared better with moderate run support.

Following Rasner, long reliever Dan Giese came in but allowed a hit and two walks to load the bases before leaving with a stiff right shoulder, flanked by trainer Steve Donohue and putting his upcoming start on Tuesday in question.

The Yankees lost 7-of-10 on their just concluded road trip, further hurting their playoff hopes, but Rasner said he's still confident the team can turn it around.

"There's a lot of professionals in here. Everybody's still up. I think we're going to be fine," he said.