Curtis Granderson Makes Early Bid for MVP with 3-Homer Game vs. Twins

Before you head to bed tonight, you might hear a thing or two about the game Curtis Granderson had, hitting three home runs and generally breaking out to an early lead in the MVP race. 

Yes, it is far too early to predict who the MVP will be in the 2012 season, but Granderson has a knack for doing things early. 

Take Thursday night's game against the Minnesota Twins, wherein the Yankees' slugger belted three home runs before the fourth inning ended. He finished the game 5-for-5, hitting two singles in his last couple of at-bats.

In a flash, Granderson went from three home runs on the year to six, and in the same blink of the eye, we can welcome back all the expectations of this superb hitter. 

One great day at the plate came on the heels of a horrible start on the bump for Anthony Swarzak. The Twins starter pitched into the third before his walk to Russell Martin forced his replacement. 

Through two innings and change, Swarzak gave up six earned runs on eight hits and three home runs, two of which were at the hands of the red-hot Granderson. The other home run was off the bat of Mark Teixeira. 

Jeff Gray came in to stop the bleeding, but was just as unsuccessful in staving off Granderson, as he gave up a 2-2 jack to Granderson in the fourth inning. 

The only bright side for the Twins is that two of the three bombs were solo jacks, but they were enough as the Yankees prevailed 7-6.

The Yankees star outfielder could use this kind of night, coming into the game with a .208 batting average and largely only showing flashes of his stick from 2011's campaign. 

The Yankees are hoping he can duplicate last year's output that included 41 home runs and 119 RBI. There is no question this outing helps. 

If there was even a modicum of worry about Granderson, that has all but dissolved with an awesome surge of power that will be the MLB headline of the night. 

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