DJ LeMahieu and the New York Yankees clobber the Minnesota Twins in Game 1 of the American League Division Series, 10-4.
- New York Yankees 10 (1-0)
- Minnesota Twins 4 (0-1)
- ALDS, Game 1, Final, Box Score
- Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
The Minnesota Twins are a scrappy baseball club ready to provide Bronx heart attacks for days. The New York Yankees are just the better club.
Both things can be true at the same time and Game 1 of the American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium proved it.
On the strength of punishing offense that didn’t relent, the Bronx Bombers took a 1-0 series lead by knocking off the NL Central champs 10-4 on Friday night.
The blow that provided the Yanks the lead for good came courtesy of a Gleyber Torres two-run double in the fifth inning.
Gleyber Torres' 2-run double gives the Yankees THE LEAD (now on @MLBNetwork). pic.twitter.com/nTrMfGbWyi
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) October 5, 2019
Interestingly, it was Torres’s second-straight crack in a bases-loaded situation. The previous shot he hit into a near double-play. This one broke a 3-3 tie and provided the Bombers a lead they never relented.
The offensive star of the game was, without a doubt, DJ LeMahieu. The Yanks leadoff hitter finished 3-for-5 with a home run, two runs and four runs batted in. His moonshot came during a critical moment of the game. After the Twins cut the deficit to one, he buried a solo shot in the sixth.
https://twitter.com/mrevandaniel/status/1180302187848753153
Veteran Edwin Encarnacion got the party started. After a first-inning solo home run by Jorge Polanco and a third-inning solo shot by Nelson Cruz put the Twinkies up 2-0, Encarnacion responded with a ribbie base knock in the third.
Edwin Encarnacion gets the Yankees on the board (now on @MLBNetwork). pic.twitter.com/phYmGwMCLo
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) October 5, 2019
Of course, a postseason game wouldn’t be complete without a Brett Gardner sighting. The Yanks No. 3 hitter also hit a home run.
HOME RUN BRETT GARDNER. pic.twitter.com/DkFnqxd3bD
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) October 5, 2019
As Bob Costas so perfectly mentioned on the MLB Network, this one represents baseball today in perfect fashion. The marathon featured five total home runs and 14 total pitchers.
James Paxton, who took the opening ball from Aaron Boone, could only muster 4.2 innings. He gave up three runs on five hits and a walk while striking out eight Twins.
Adam Ottavino, Tommy Kahnle, Chad Green, Zack Britton, J.A. Happ and Aroldis Chapman all saw work out of the pen. Only Kahnle surrendered a run.
For Minnesota, Polanco and Marwin Gonzales finished with a team-high two hits. Starter Jose Berrios gave up three runs on four hits and a walk in four innings of work.
The New York Yankees, now up 1-0, will look to take Game 2 on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 5:07 p.m. ET from the Bronx.
YANKEES WIN!
(via @MLBNetwork) pic.twitter.com/84j04du3Ni— YES Network (@YESNetwork) October 5, 2019
DJ with a BASES CLEARING DOUBLE. Yankees up 10-4. (Now on @MLBNetwork) pic.twitter.com/ldxMwggN8K
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) October 5, 2019
NO, IT'S AARON JUDGE! pic.twitter.com/ge1bj8EtbH
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) October 5, 2019
