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. Custom Falcons Jerseys . 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. Calvin Ridley Falcons Jersey . - Free agent defensive end Will Smith has signed with the New England Patriots. Deadrin Senat Jersey . The team sent out a press release on Friday stating Poile was resting and recovering and that he will remain in hospital for further observation. The Predators were preparing for the game against the Wild when Poile was hit by a puck that flew off the ice at him where he was standing in a tunnel behind the bench. http://www.falconsapparelsshop.com/ito-smith-falcons-jersey-c-71/ . During the furious first few hours of free agency Tuesday, the team agreed to terms with strong safety Donte Whitner, a Cleveland native who cant wait to play in his hometown.EVANSTON, Ill. -- Roy Devyn Marble scored 14 points and No. 10 Iowa never trailed, beating Northwestern 76-50 on Saturday. Gabriel Olaseni had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Mike Gesell added 11 points for the Hawkeyes (16-4, 5-2 Big Ten), who avoided losing consecutive games for the first time this season after falling 75-67 at No. 21 Michigan on Wednesday. They shot 51.9 per cent from the field (28 of 54) and won their fourth in five games. Iowa, which outrebounded Northwestern 44-20, had nine players score. Marble, Iowas leading scorer, didnt make his first field goal until 3:08 into the second half. That was part of a 7-0 run that gave the Hawkeyes a 41-30 lead, their first double-digit advantage. Northwestern never got closer than seven points during a second half Iowa dominated 46-26. Drew Crawford had 20 points for Northwestern (10-11, 3-5), which had won three of four. Saturday was a rematch of the teams Jan. 9 game in Iowa City which the Hawkeyes won 93-67 after shooting 64.3 per cent during the second half. Iowa coach Fran McCaffery was suspended for that game after getting ejected during the Hawkeyes previous game at Wisconsin. On Saturday, McCaffery was coaching and along with Northwesterns Chris Collins wore sneakers as part of the annual Coaches vs. Isaiah Oliver Jersey. Cancer weekend. That first game was a turning point for Northwestern. Including the teams first matchup, the Wildcats started conference play 0-3 and were allowing an average of 81 points per game. In the next four games -- a stretch that included a win over then-No. 23 Illinois, a victory at Indiana and a double-overtime win over Purdue -- the Wildcats only gave up 51 points per game. Northwestern got Dave Sobolewski back after he missed four games (concussion), and had Crawford break the school record by playing in his 131st game and starting his 130th. He topped the marks set by John Shurna and Michael Thompson, respectively. The Wildcats shot 36.4 per cent from the field (20 of 55). Unlike the first meeting, when the Hawkeyes led 41-26 at halftime, Iowa struggled to separate from Northwestern during the first half despite making 50 per cent of its shots compared to the Wildcats 31. Iowa was in front 30-24 at halftime but at one point went more than 6 minutes between baskets. Cheap NFL Jerseys ThrowbackCheap JerseysDiscount NFL JerseysWholesale Authentic JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaDiscount JerseysWholesale Stitched Jerseys ' ' '