Judge and Stanton star as Yankees outslug Twins in nail-biter
New York erupted early, Minnesota rallied late, but a ninth-inning strikeout preserved the Yankees’ playoff chase.
The New York Yankees know perfection is the standard if they are to clinch the AL East, and they took another step toward that goal with a 10-9 victory over the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.
New York opened the scoring in the first inning with an RBI single from Cody Bellinger and a sacrifice fly by Giancarlo Stanton. Minnesota responded in the bottom half when Royce Lewis dropped a soft single into left, though only Trevor Larnach managed to cross home.
The Yankees sent their entire lineup to the plate in the second inning, piling on four more runs. Austin Wells doubled in Anthony Volpe, then Trent Grisham crushed a two-run homer. Stanton capped the frame with a liner to right, bringing in New York’s sixth run.
The surge carried into the third inning. Grisham and Aaron Judge each lifted sacrifice flies, and Ben Rice added an RBI double to score Wells. The Yankees reached double digits in the fourth when Volpe grounded out but pushed across another run.
The Twins stormed back in the middle innings. James Outman launched a two-run homer in the fifth, followed by a wild pitch from Cam Schlittler that allowed Byron Buxton to score.
Minnesota cut the deficit further in the sixth with four more runs. Mickey Gasper lined a single to drive in Matt Wallner, and Ryan Fitzgerald belted a two-run shot to right. Larnach then added a sac fly, with Buxton tagging and scoring the eighth run.
The home side tried to finish the job in the ninth. With one out, Larnach homered to close the gap to one, but closer David Bednar struck out Lewis on a low splitter to end it, leaving the Twins just short of a dramatic comeback.
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