The New York Yankees crushed the Minnesota Twins 11-3 to sweep the three-game set and make a statement in the Wild Card race.
- New York Yankees(85-67): 11
- Minnesota Twins(78-74): 3
- American League, FINAL, Box Score
- Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
Before September began, this series against the Minnesota Twins was circled in bright red ink on the New York Yankees schedule, as it was the likely Wild Card game matchup. The Yankees wanted to make a statement against their likely opponent and did with a huge win this afternoon.
Take a break from work and class and enjoy some Yankees afternoon baseball!
Play ball! pic.twitter.com/lTCYGmbpI3
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 20, 2017
The Yankees and Twins were held scoreless through the first two frames but the Twins struck first in the top of the third inning. Joe Mauer battled a bases-loaded single into right field to take an early 1-0 lead. The Twins would seak more runs and that’s exactly what they would get when the bases remained loaded for Jorge Polanco, who also grounded a base hit into right field, with Minnesota entering the bottom of the third with a 3-0 lead.
Said lead would be very brief as the Yankees responded in a true Bronx Bombers fashion. The honorable Aaron Judge would rule a two-run homer into the right-field seats. That long ball gave Judge 45 home runs and 100 RBI on the season, a mark that seemed unrealistic before it began. While Judge’s shot brought the Yanks within one, Gary Sanchez launched a home run to deep center field to tie the game at 3. Sanchez’s blast was his 32nd of the year.
Elite company for the rookie. Yankees who have hit 45 HR in a season:
Ruth
Gehrig
DiMaggio
Rodriguez
Mantle
Maris
JUDGE pic.twitter.com/uzM6T7jlQJ— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 20, 2017
Minnesota failed to respond in the fourth, and the Yankees were just getting started. Greg Bird would double in a run to give the team a 4-3 lead and both Brett Gardner and Sanchez racked up RBI singles to extend the score to 6-3. The inning was capped off by a three-run moonshot to right field by Didi Gregorius, making it 9-3. Sir Didi’s blast was his 25th of the season, as he continues to turn himself into a star in MLB.
Sir Didi passes The Captain! That’s HR No. 25 – most EVER by a Yankees shortstop! pic.twitter.com/d79SonNIHh
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 20, 2017
The Twins understandably seemed a bit shell-shocked by the Yankees outburst and went down quietly in the fifth. However, the Bombers weren’t done with the runs just yet. The Yankees added two more in the inning when Matt Holliday scored on a wild pitch and Judge hit a sacrifice fly to right, extending the lead to eight runs.
That score would hold, and the Yankees would win the game 11-3 and complete the three-game sweep.
AARON JUDGE HEATING UP
Judge is hitting .347 with four home runs and 11 RBI in his last seven games. He seems to be regaining his form at the perfect time as the postseason is just 10 games away.
SEVERINO STRUGGLES CONCERNING
Luis Severino lasted only three innings against the Twins and allowed three runs. This is a bit concerning as the young ace seems to be the choice for the potential Wild Card matchup against the Twins. We’ll see what Girardi will do given this performance.
WHAT’S NEXT?
The Yankees have the day off tomorrow and will start a three-game set with the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday. Masahiro Tanaka is the scheduled starter on Friday.