NEW YORK -- Masahiro Tanaka throws a splitter that drops out of sight, ranks among the major league leaders in many prized pitching categories and appears, so far, to be worth every penny the New York Yankees paid to sign him. His place in those pinstripes? Tanaka seems to have a different take than most everyone else. "No, I dont feel that Im the ace," he said Saturday through a translator. Tanaka shut down Joe Mauer and the other Minnesota hitters while lowering his AL-best ERA to 2.06, and Brian McCann lined a go-ahead double in the eighth inning Saturday that sent the New York Yankees over the Twins 3-1. Tanaka (8-1) permitted only an unearned run in eight innings. The heralded rookie from Japan gave up four singles, just two leaving the infield. Tanaka struck out nine, giving him 88 in 78 2-3 innings. The 25-year-old righty is fanning more batters in the big leagues than he did back home before getting a $155 million, seven-year contract from the Yankees. "Its probably the guys here havent seen me," he said. Tanaka walked two and bounced two wild pitches. But he was especially sharp against Mauer, the three-time AL batting champion. Mauer, who faced Tanaka in spring training, struck out on three pitches in the first inning with a runner on third. Mauer fanned on four pitches with runners on second and third in the third, then tapped into a double play and later grounded out. "Guys said the ball was just disappearing," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "His splitter is unbelievable, hes got all the pitches." "And we also saw that hes very competitive. A few times you could see him yelling at himself, hes very competitive," he said. Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira left in the sixth because of soreness in his surgically repaired right wrist, the same problem that forced him to miss three games this week. Manager Joe Girardi said Teixeira was expected to miss two more games. "Our feeling, right now, is that its going to be short term," Girardi said. It was 1-all when Jacoby Ellsbury singled with one out in the Yankees eighth off Brian Duensing (1-2). Ellsbury stole second, and continued to third when catcher Josmil Pintos throw from his knees went into centre field for an error. In light showers, Brian Roberts walked and McCann hit an RBI double over leaping first baseman Chris Parmelee into the right-field corner. Following a 34-minute rain delay, Kelly Johnson drove in a run with an infield single. David Robertson pitched the ninth for his 12th save. Minnesota has lost seven of nine. Yangervis Solarte homered for the Yankees first run. Tanaka and Twins starter Kevin Correia both escaped early trouble, and nobody pitched a perfect 1-2-3 inning until the seventh. Brian Dozier grounded the first pitch of the game off Johnsons glove at third base for an error, moved up on a wild pitch and scored on Josh Willinghams two-out single. Correia got out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the first when he struck out Teixeira and got McCann to bounce into a double play. Solarte homered in the fourth, giving the rookie infielder a team-leading 26 RBIs. Solarte singled with two outs and the slow-footed McCann on second in the sixth. McCann was held at third as strong-armed right fielder Oswaldo Arcia fielded the ball and threw home, and Solarte was thrown out trying to take second. Arcia had two assists in Friday nights 6-1 win. NOTES: Twins rookie CF Danny Santana was out of the lineup, a day after he needed seven stitches to close a cut on his left eyelid. He was hurt when his batting helmet flew off during a headfirst slide and bounced up to hit him in the face. "We have to be guarded here," Gardenhire said. ... Gardenhire won a replay challenge in the third, and Eduardo Escobar wound up with an infield hit. ... Former Yankees All-Star Phil Hughes (5-1, 3.23) faces his former team Sunday. Rookie Chase Whitley (0-0, 2.57) starts for New York. ... Derek Stepan, Ryan McDonagh and Derick Brassard of the New York Rangers were in the crowd, and got big cheers when shown on the videoboard. The Rangers are in the Stanley Cup final. ... The Twins were trying for their fourth straight win at Yankee Stadium, having won their final two games at the park last year and again Friday. The last time Minnesota won four in a row in the Bronx was 1968. Jason Grilli Rangers Jersey . Alvarez hit his first career home run, pitched six innings and hurt his right hamstring while running the bases in the Miami Marlins 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs. Ian Gibaut Jersey . Kalish got his first hit since Sept. 11, 2012, when he rapped an RBI triple in the first inning Sunday in the Chicago Cubs 8-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/3032h-adrian-beltre-jersey-rangers.html . Stevenson scored the first three goals of the game in the first period for Regina (35-22-6), which has won eight of its last 10 games. Patrick DAmico added two for the Pats, Braden Christoffer had a single and Morgan Klimchuk chipped in a goal and four assists. Yu Darvish Rangers Jersey .Y. -- The Buffalo Bills have fired receivers coach Ike Hilliard. Shawn Kelley Jersey . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July.NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Former Titans kicker Rob Bironas was intoxicated and speeding when his sports utility vehicle went off the road and crashed into a row of trees, according to the final police report.The report issued Friday says data analysis shows Bironas was driving at 73 mph going into a curve where he lost control of his and crashed Sept. 20. Paramedics found Bironas dead at the scene before taking him to a hospital where he was declared dead.The cause of the crash was Driver ls failure to maintain the proper lane and exceeding the posted speed limit, according to the report. This case is now closed.Bironas, whose seat belt was buckled, died from blunt force injuries according to the final autopsy report. The toxicology report showed his blood alcohol level was at 0.218 per cent, well above Tennessees limit for driving under the influence of 0.08 per cent. The toxicology report also found a low level of Diazepam or Valium also was detected, but at a level so low to have a negligible effect.The Titans released Bironas in March. He played nine seasons wiith the franchise and had worked out for Detroit the week of his death.dddddddddddd. Bironas was the fourth most-accurate kicker in NFL history, connecting on 85.7 per cent of his kicks (239 of 279). He finished as the Titans second leading career scorer with 1,032 points, and he made a franchise-record 11 winning field goals during his career.Police investigating the crash found video showing Bironas leaving his home around 10:40 p.m. that night before he apparently chased a truck. The report notes four Belmont University students called police charging Bironas chased their pickup at speeds of up to 110 mph. Another witness, Cynthia Wilde, told police Bironas had tried to drive her vehicle off the road before her husband pulled over to let the SUV pass just before the crash at approximately 11 p.m.Bironas wife Rachel, daughter of Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw, called 911 when she couldnt locate her husband after they had been watching a movie at home.__Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '