MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -Little Lyla Perkins finally stopped crying about 6:45 p.m. on Sunday night, signaling to her new daddy that it would be OK to go to work the next night.
It was the first bit of peace and quiet Glen Perkins had enjoyed in about 17 hours, since the Minnesota Twins pitcher got a 3 a.m. call in Kansas City that it was time to come home for the birth of his second daughter.
When he hopped the 7 a.m. flight to the Twin Cities on Sunday, Perkins wasn’t sure he would even make it to the Metrodome on Monday night, let alone deliver the best start of his young career against the New York Yankees.
Perkins allowed four hits and three walks over eight outstanding innings and light-hitting Adam Everett had a two-run homer, lifting Minnesota to a 4-0 victory over the reeling Yankees.
“It’s a great feeling,” Perkins said. “I always pitch for my family. That’s why I’m playing, to help support them.
“You’re tired and you’re all those things, but to be able to do that a day after having a baby is really special. You get a little bit extra when you’re in a situation like that.”
The 25-year-old needed that boost against a lineup that roughed him up in two previous starts. Perkins was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA against New York this season before he struck out four and induced two inning-ending double plays to pitch the Twins back into first place, a half-game ahead of Chicago in the AL Central.
“What a performance,” said manager Ron Gardenhire, who notched career win No. 600.
Perkins (9-3) also caught the Yankees at the right time, pouncing on a struggling team that has lost a season-high four straight, and 11 of 16, to fall nine games behind first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East and five back of Boston in the wild-card standings.
“Yeah, we’ve had some struggles the past few games, but I believe in our guys and I believe we’re going to turn it around,” manager Joe Girardi said.
In other AL games, it was: Boston 5, Chicago 1; Toronto 7, Detroit 2; and Cleveland 13, Baltimore 8.
Joe Nathan fanned Bobby Abreu, Alex Rodriguez and Xavier Nady in the ninth to complete the first shutout of the Yankees at the Metrodome since June 24, 1996.
Ex-Twin Sidney Ponson (7-3) gave up four runs in 7 2-3 innings, just his second loss for New York after starting the season with Texas. He gave up Everett’s first homer since May 11 in the second and only two more runs the rest of the way, but got no help from an offense that has feasted on Twins pitching.
The Yankees have eight players on the roster with career averages above .300 in at least 15 games against the Twins. They outscored Minnesota 25-7 in a three-game sweep in New York in late July, but are averaging only 3.7 runs per game in their last eight.
“Guys start pressing and looking for that big hit,” said Xavier Nady, who went 0-for-4 to snap an 11-game hitting streak. “It’s just a matter of time before someone gets that big hit and it goes the other way.”
But with questions starting to come about the possibility of missing the playoffs for the first time since 1993, just how much time do the Yankees have left?
“It’s something we’ve got to take care of pretty quick,” Nady said.
Red Sox 5, White Sox 1
At Chicago, Josh Beckett pitched eight strong innings and Boston beat John Danks after he took a no-hitter into the seventh.
Kevin Youkilis’ broken-bat single ended the no-hit bid, and J.D. Drew’s two-run double put Boston ahead 2-1. Jed Lowrie added a two-run double in the ninth as the Red Sox gained a four-game split and moved within four games of idle Tampa Bay.
While Danks retired his first 17 batters, the White Sox did little against Beckett (11-8). He yielded seven hits, struck out eight and did not walk a batter for his second consecutive win.
Danks (9-5) did not allow a base runner until he hit Jacoby Ellsbury with a pitch in the sixth.
Indians 13, Orioles 8
Asdrubal Cabrera homered and then doubled in the go-ahead run in the seventh to help host Cleveland win its fourth straight.
The Indians took an early 5-0 lead but fell behind 8-7. Cleveland scored three times in the seventh, and Ben Francisco and Andy Gonzalez homered in the eighth.
Nick Markakis had three hits and drove in four runs for Baltimore.
Blue Jays 7, Tigers 2
At Detroit, Justin Verlander struggled again and Toronto roughed him up to snap a three-game slide.
Rod Barajas had a homer and three RBIs for the Blue Jays, who scored just four runs in three games while getting swept by Cleveland last weekend.
The Tigers lost for the eighth time in 11 games.
Verlander (8-13) lasted 4 1-3 innings, giving up six runs and seven hits. The 2006 AL Rookie of the Year has allowed 24 earned runs over his last four starts, losing all of them to equal the worst skid of his career.
Shaun Marcum (7-5) gave up two runs in six innings.
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