You couldn't help but feel a sense of confidence in the visiting clubhouse at Yankee Stadium on Friday evening.
In there, was the best team in baseball ( At least record wise) the Minnesota Twins, who were going up against a Yankees team that was made up of Triple-A guys, which is why everyone has been calling them the "New York RailRiders" these past two weeks, as the Railriders are the name of the Yankees major AAA affiliate.
But something happened over the weeknd, the Yankees showed they can play with the big boys, and there were no pushovers, as they took the three game series from the Twins 2-1 ( 6-3,3-7,4-1).
There were a lot of contributors in this series, so let's get into it!
GAME 1: YANKEES 6 TWINS 3
The Yankees came hot out of the gates against Twins starter Kyle Gibson, as Brett Gardner started the Yankees off with a single, before advancing to third on the two base error, basically giving him a leadoff triple. Gardner would later score on a Gleyber Torres RBI single to put the Yankees ahead 1-0. In the second, the Yankees added to their lead, as Luke Voit singled home carmon Maybin to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead.
As for Yankees starter James Paxton, it was obvious from the beginning of the game, that something was physically wrong with him, and it showed in the third, as Paxton left the game with a right knee inflammation, and the Yankees with a 2-1 lead, as James allowed a CJ Cron sac fly in the second.
With the starting pitcher gone, the Yankees bullpen needed to step up, and they did as Jonathan Holder, Adam Ottavino, Tommy Kahlne and Zack Britton combined to retire the next 14 Twins in a row after Paxton's departure.
As for the Yankees offense, they were able to capitalize on some Twins errors, and score two more runs, before Gary Sanchez mashed two no doubter HRs to give the Yankees a commanding 6-1 lead after 7,
Zack Britton got two outs in the 8th, before allowing a walk and a Nelson Cruz 2run HR to cut the Yankees lead to 6-3. But Aroldis Chapman appeared in the 9th, and locked down the save, securing a 6-3 Yankees win.
MVP:
Gary Sanchez, as his two HRs gave the Yankees bullpen some breathing room, and they deliverd with some lights out pitching.
Game 2: Twins 7 Yankees 3
The force wasn’t with the Yankees on Star Wars day, as they fell to the Twins 7-3.
The day started off great, as the Yankees shockingly welcomed the return of Miguel Andujar off the IL, as when he went down with a small labrum tear in his right shoulder on April 8th, many speculated he would be out until August, or the whole season as season ending surgery was on the table at the time.
But less then a month later, here we are and no season ending surgery is required, as Andujar is fine.
As for the game, it got away from the Yankees really quickly, as JA Happ gave up 4 runs in 5 innings, including HRs to Mitch Garver and CJ Cron.
As for the Yankees offense, they could never get it going against Twins starter Jake Odorizzi who went 6 scoreless innings while striking out 8.
The Yankees tried to mount a rally in the bottom of the 7th against the Twins bullpen, as a wild pitch and an RBI single by DJ LeMahieu puller the Yankees to within 5-2. But that’s as close as they got, as Luke Voit grounded out to 3rd to end the threat.
Gary Sanchez would continue his hitting streak with another solo HR in the 8th, but it wasn’t enough as the Twins scored two runs in the final two innings to secure the victory at Yankee Stadium 7-3.
MVP:
Jake Odorizzi
WEB GEM:
Up 2-0 in the 4th, and looking to add to their lead, Jonathan Scoop crushed what looked to be a 3runHR until Yankees RF Camron Maybin leaped over the brought it back to keep the Yankees in the game.
ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END:
Luke Voit’s 42 game on-base streak ended in this one, as he went 0 for 4 with a strikeout in this one.
ANDUJAR:
Miguel went 1 for 3 in his 2019 debut with a walk, and made two nice plays at 3B, while also making two errors. One of which led to a run.
Game 3 Yankees 4 Twins 1 (8)
Originally, this game was supposed to start at 1:05 PM, but due to inclement weather, was pushed back to 4:05 due to inclement weather.
The pitching matchup for today’s series finale would be an interesting one, as young star Domingo German would be taking the mound for the Yankees against Michael Pineda, who was pitching for the first time since he was a Yankee himself in 2017.
Early on, it was a pitchers duel, as both starters seemed to be in a race for who can get the most strikeouts. But eventually, the Yankees bats were able to make Pineda work for his outs, and he paid the price in the bottom of the second inning, as he was in a bases loaded 2 out jam, with DJ LeMahieu at the plate.
Having already seen Pineda in the first inning, DJ knew what he was looking for and got it as he swung at the first offering and sent a bouncer right to Twins second baseman Jorge Polanco, who instead of getting the force out at the second threw wildly to first, allowing DJ to reach and two runs to cross home plate to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead.
The Twins would get to German in the 4th, and get on the board when Marwin Gonzalez singled home Eddie Rosario to cut the Yankees lead to 2-1.
But other then that, German was brilliant once again, as he went 6.2 innings of 1 run ball while striking out 7.
As for the Yankees offense, they would get to Pineda again in the bottom of the 4th, as Mike Tauchman provided some breathing room by launching a 2runHR into the right field seats to give the Yankees a 4-1 lead.
As the game moved on, the severity of the rain picked up. Knowing this, Aaron Boone sent out Aroldis Chapman with 2 outs in the top of the 8th with runners on 1st and second with 2 outs, and Marwin Gonzalez at the plate, and with the way the rain was coming down on the field, it was do or die for the Twins right here.
Luckily for Chapman, he won the battle with Marwin, striking him out on a full count, that saw the runners advance to second and third on a wild pitch before Chapman got Gonzalez to swing and miss for strike 3.
Eventually the rain the became too much for everyone involved and the game was brought to a screeching and final halt in the bottom of the 8th, as the game went into a rain delay.
After an hour of waiting, the rain was too much for the players to go back out into the field , as the umpires called the game, awarding the Yankees a rain shorthed victory 4-1.
MVP:
Domingo German
SERIES MVP:
I have to go with the bullpen on this one, as when called upon they were amazing keeping the Yankees in games and allowing the offense to extend their lead.
LEFTOVERS:
Tommy Kahlne and Adam Ottavino built the bridge to Chapman.
THOUGHTS:
Unbelievable! With this 2-1 series win, this group has shown they can play with the big boys. I hope that these positive vibes keep going and the Yankees keep the momentum going, as guys start to get healthy again.
RED THUNDER IS BACK!
After the game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that OF Clint Frazier will be coming off the IL on Monday.
To make room for him on the roster, the Yankees sent reliever Stephen Tarpley down to Triple A.
This is a good corresponding move by the Yankees, as Tarpley can go work on his mechanics and when needed, he can come back stronger than ever.
UP NEXT:
The Yankees (19-14) will go up against another good team in the Seattle Mariners (19-17) on Monday, in the beginning of a 4 game series at Yankee Stadium.
To open the series, it will be CC Sabathia going for the Yankees against Felix Hernandez for the Mariners.
Game time is 6:35PM.
Comments