Manager Aaron Boone expressed confidence in his lineup before the series began, and the Yankees’ bats have backed him up. For the second straight night, New York powered past the Minnesota Twins, this time 9-1, behind home runs from Aaron Judge, Anthony Volpe, and Giancarlo Stanton, plus seven strong innings from Carlos Rodón.
Judge opened the scoring in the first with a 425-foot blast to right, his first homer since returning from the injured list. In the second, Volpe delivered the knockout punch early, sending a three-run shot into the left-field seats. Stanton, riding a 14-game hitting streak, added a solo homer later and capped a four-hit, three-RBI night that raised his OPS to .962.
Rodón endured a rocky start, allowing the first three batters to reach in the opening inning. He limited the damage to one run, then locked in, retiring 17 consecutive hitters at one point. The left-hander finished with one run on one hit, two walks, and five strikeouts over 96 pitches. It was the first time a Yankees starter had gone at least seven innings since Rodón’s eight-frame effort on July 11.
Minnesota starter Travis Adams struggled, facing 22 batters but retiring only seven. The Yankees piled on runs with consistent traffic on the bases, and by the late innings, the game was well out of reach.
The victory secured the Yankees’ first series win since July and continued their long-standing dominance over Minnesota, improving to 145-44 against the Twins since 2002.
Box Score | AL Wild Card Standings
New York (64-56) goes for the three-game sweep of Minnesota on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].