NEW YORK -- It's almost like Alex Rodriguez is punishing the Twins for failing to hire Miami high school teammate Doug Mientkiewicz as their manager.
The 40-year-old rehabilitated superstar connected on his major league-record 26th career grand slam, lifting the New York Yankees to an 8-4 win over the Twins on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium.
With the Twins' bullpen depleted by a 10-inning loss in the series opener, it was left to rookie right-hander J.R. Graham to face Rodriguez with the bases loaded and one out in the seventh.
Graham, the Rule 5 draft pick plucked out of the Atlanta Braves farm system, had pitched just once in the previous 10 days and had allowed a 9.