Yankees' Bird skies 1st career HR, adds winning blast in 6th

After grounding out in his first at-bat of the game against Minnesota Twins starter Ervin Santana on Wednesday, New York Yankees rookie Greg Bird sent the ball flying in his next two appearances at the plate.

The 22-year-old launched his first career home run into the second deck at Yankee Stadium in just his fifth game in the majors to give New York an early 2-0 lead.

After the Twins stole the lead, Bird blasted another go-ahead two-run shot off Santana to put the Yankees up 4-3 and earn his first career curtain call.

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

"This is a big comparison and I'm not saying this is what my expectation is, but Miguel Cabrera had a slow clock and really had an understanding of what he wanted to do. And I think Greg Bird has an understanding of who he is and what he wants to do," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said postgame.

With Mark Teixeira out nursing a bone bruise in his leg for a second straight game, Bird could get extended playing time in the coming days - especially if he keeps hitting the ball like he did Wednesday. He was called up Aug. 15 to back up Teixeira at first and Alex Rodriguez at designated hitter.

Entering play Wednesday, the rookie was batting 4-for-14 with an RBI.