HR-less win shows Yankees' balance

The Yankees topped the Twins 10-2 tonight with nary a homer, once again showing New York's ability to win with a balanced attack.

Ace CC Sabathia led the defense, allowing only one run over seven innings (with just three Ks), and every Yankees starter had a hit. Over the night, the Bombers patched together 16 hits, including a 4-for-6 night by Mark Teixeira and a triple-led 3-for-5 round by Brett Gardner.

The famed Minnesota onslaught, meanwhile, saw sluggers Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer both go 0-for-3.

On the season, the Yankees aren't really stacking the statistics categories, either. Mariano Rivera's 21 saves are third in the American League, and Teixeira's 20 homers and 62 RBIs are in the top five, but no other Yankees are leading in major statistical categories.

Instead, the team is using a balanced attack. In my tally of the top three Yankees in batting average, homers, and RBIs, I have seven different guys sharing the honors. The four starting pitchers that have been tossing regularly for the Yankees have virtually the same ERAs and win-loss totals. And when players hit the DL or take a night off, the bench players (such as catcher Francisco Cervelli) are hitting, too.

The Yanks were 17-17 when they came into their last series against the Twins, a four-gamer that they swept en route to their current 49-34 record. They needed a few walk-offs in that series; I'm not sure they'll need any this time.

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