It was quite an opportunity for Pat Dean, a chance to start a major league game against the team he grew up rooting for as a kid in Connecticut.

It didn’t take very long for it to unravel, and by the end of the night he was on his way to the minors.

Dean was knocked out in the third inning and the Minnesota Twins went on to an 8-2 loss to the New York Yankees on Friday.

“It happened fast,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “You hate to say a game’s over early, but it didn’t start out well.”

Masahiro Tanaka (4-2) pitched eight innings of one-run ball for New York, and Carlos Beltran hit a two-run homer.

Tanaka had all the run support he needed by the time he tossed his first pitch. Beltran connected against Dean (1-3) in the first, and Rob Refsnyder and Didi Gregorius each drove in a run in the inning to give Tanaka an early 4-0 lead.

“It just was bang, bang, bang,” Molitor said. “He had a little bit of a battle there with Beltran, but he left the cutter up there and then they followed up with another run, so we’re down four. We tried to find a way to keep him out there for a little while.”

Dean threw only 68 pitches and was charged with seven runs and eight hits in 2 1/3 innings. The Yankees cruised the rest of the night to their second straight win after snapping a four-game skid Thursday.

Eduardo Escobar drove in both of Minnesota’s runs; he had an RBI double in the second and a homer off Nick Goody in the ninth.

After the game, Molitor said the team called up left-hander Tommy Milone from Triple-A Rochester to take Dean’s roster spot.

“Hopefully I’ll be able to build on things that I’ve learned and I’ll be back up here soon,” Dean said.

Nearly every Yankees batter he faced had a hit by the time he was pulled in the third. He walked Chase Headley to load the bases before Gregorius’ fielder’s choice scored Alex Rodriguez.

“I can’t let things like tonight happen where I let the game speed up on me,” Dean said. “I’ve got to slow it down and keep control of the pace of the game. I let this one get away from me. I just didn’t do my job today.”

 

Perkins update

Twins closer Glen Perkins said he’s hoping to have surgery as early as next week to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, although nothing had been scheduled yet. Perkins met with reporters a day after the team announced their hard-throwing lefty would miss the rest of the season. The Twins had originally hoped Perkins’ pain would subside with adequate rest and rehab.

“I rehabbed for two months,” Perkins said. “I don’t want to keep rehabbing and start to push my timeline into next season. So the right time to do it is now.”

 

Trainer’s room

Twins: OF Danny Santana (hamstring) went 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter in his first game after missing 16 games on the DL. Molitor said he expects to use Santana more in the outfield, but added he also gives him options to pinch-hit and run for infielders. … INF Miguel Sano (hamstring) hit a few balls into the seats during batting practice, and the team said he’s making steady progress. Still general manager Terry Ryan said he doesn’t have a return timetable, adding he wants to see his young slugger running at full speed. … RHP Trevor May (back) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session today.

 

Up next

Twins: RHP Ricky Nolasco (3-4) makes his third career start against the Yankees and first since 2014.