Liveblog: Twins at Yankees

Today's game can be seen on YES and ESPN. For those in offices, however, I will liveblog until the starters are out.

Check back here for updates throughout the afternoon.

Ian Kennedy will start for the Yankees and will pitch two or three innings. Joba Chamberlain will relieve him, and pitch another two or three innings.

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Top of the First

Three wounded Iraq War veterans, the Wounder Warriors, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Kennedy threw the first pitch for a strike to Carlos Gomez. He lays down a bunt on the second pitch and is thrown out at first, after it was barehanded by Wilson Betemit at third. Brendan Harris laces a 2-1 pitch through the left side of the infield for a one-out single, bringing up Joe Mauer. Mauer grounds into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.

Bottom of the First

Kevin Slowy, the Twins' minor league pitcher of the year, is starting today. Johnny Damon pops an 0-1 pitch to left fielder Delmon Young for the first out. Derek Jeter lines the first pitch to center field for a single, bringing up right fielder Bobby Abreu. Abreu hits a slow grounder to second base, forcing out Jeter. Abreu reaches on the fielder's choice. Alex Rodriguez, today's designated hitter, is up now. Rodriguez works the count full and eventually draws a walk. He swung and missed on two pitches this at-bat. Jason Giambi strikes out looking to end the inning, leaving two men on base.

Top of the Second

Justin Morneau leads off. He pops up a 3-2 changeup to Melky Cabrera in center for the first out of the inning. Young pounds a 3-1 pitch, over the wall slightly to the left of the 408 ft. sign in center field. 1-0 Twins. Third baseman Brian Buscher is up now. He is robbed by Giambi at first. He hit a 3-2 pitch on the screws and Giambi jumped to snare the line drive for the second out of the inning. Jon Knott grounds out to Jeter to end the inning. Jeter's throw was a little off, as Giambi had to come off the bag to tag Knott.

Bottom of the Second

Jorge Posada leads off. He flies out to left field, as Young almost got hit in the face with the ball after losing it in the sun. Robinson Cano follows Posada. He lines a pitch over Gomez's head in center and reaches with a double. Center field is getting a lot of action so far. Betemit drove a pitch to center field for a double, scoring Cano. 1-1. Cabrera strikes out swinging for the second out of the inning. With Damon batting, Slowey throws a wild pitch, allowing Betemit to advance to third. Damon grounds a pitch to center past a diving Harris for an RBI single. 2-1 Yankees.

Damon steals second base standing up, as the 0-2 pitch was in the dirt. Jeter come back from the 0-2 hole to draw a walk. First and second, two out for Abreu. Abreu lines a single to center and the throw home goes way past Mauer, scoring Damon. 3-1 Yankees. The runners also advance, as it's second and third with two out for Rodriguez. Rodriguez strikes out swinging to end the inning.

Top of the Third

Lefty Heath Phillips relieves Kennedy (I thought it was going to be Chamberlain). He tags out Garrett Jones along the first base line for the first out of the inning. Phillips gets Matt Tolbert to strike out swinging on an 88 m.p.h. fastball for the second out. Gomez breaks his bat as he grounds out to Jeter to end the inning.

Bottom of the Third

Julio DePaula comes in for the Twins, ending Slowey's outing. Giambi taps a single to left for a single to lead of the inning. DePaula balks, allowing Giambi to take second. Posada flies out to right on a 3-2 pitch for the first out of the inning. Cano bounces a single to center, scoring Giambi. 4-1 Yankees. Cano is out trying to advance to second on the throw for the second out of the inning. Betemit strikes out swinging to end the Yankees' threat.

Top of the Fourth

Chamberlain is in the game now. He falls behind 3-0 but gets Harris to ground out. Mauer grounds out to Giambi for the second out of the inning. Morneau draws a two-out walk. Chamberlain has fallen behind every batter so far. Chamberlain falls behind Morneau 3-2, but gets him to ground out to Betemit at third to end the inning. Chamberlain threw 19 pitches and went to a three-ball count on three of the four batters he faced.

Bottom of the Fourth

Randy Keisler, the former Yankee, is now in the game for the Twins. Cabrera strikes out for the second time today, swinging at a pitch way outside. Damon grounds out to second for the second out of the inning. Jeter grounds a ball off the second baseman's glove and into right field. Jeter takes second on a ball in the dirt. Abreu then pops up to center fielder Gomez to end the inning.

Top of the Fifth

Chamberlain is out there for a second inning of work. Buscher lines it to short right field for a leadoff single. Chamberlain gets Knott to strike out looking for the first out. Jones tees off on Chamberlain, blasting a two-run home run over the right field wall. 4-3 Yankees. Chamberlain has not looked at all this afternoon. Chamberlain hits Tolbert on the ankle and the next pitch. He has thrown 31 pitches through 1 1-3 innings. Chamberlain gets the next batter to fly out to Cabrera, as he had to run in hard to track down the ball. Harris grounds into a fielder's choice, as Cano flips to Jeter covering second to end the inning.

Bottom of the Fifth

Keisler is still in for the Twins. Rodriguez hits a deep fly ball that is caught in center for the first out of the inning. Giambi hits a ground ball into the hole between short and third and is thrown out for the second out. Giambi is running well this spring (for him) and was out by a step. Posada then grounds out to first to end the inning, as the Yankees go down 1-2-3 for the first time today.

Top of the Sixth

Jonathan Albaladejo is in for the Yankees now. The position players are starting to come out as well, as Colin Curtis and Jason Lane are in left and right, respectively, and Shelley Duncan is at first. Mauer doubles into the opposite-field gap to lead off the inning. Morneau flies out to center, and Jose Morales, running for Mauer, is thrown out trying to tag up from second. Cabrera still has that great arm that was shown off last season. Young hits a two-out single, bringing up Matt Macri. Albaladejo gets Macri to strike out swinging to end the inning.

Bottom of the Sixth

With Dennys Reyes pitching, Cano grounds a single up the middle to lead off the Yankees' threat. Bernie Castro comes in to run for Cano. Betemit hits a grounder to third, and Macri makes a bad throw to second, causing everyone to be safe. First and second, no out for Cabrera. He grounds into a 6-6-3 double play, advancing Castro to third base. Duncan is batting for the first time this game. He strikes out swinging to end the inning.

I think I'm going to end the liveblog here. It is 4-3 Yankees heading to the top of the seventh inning. I will be back with a recap of the game after it ends.