The Yankees had 13 hits against the Minnesota Twins and won, 5-1, on Tuesday night in Minneapolis.
Here are the takeaways…
-In a game where every starter in New York’s lineup had at least one hit, we’d be remiss not to start with the offense. Anthony Volpe gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead in the second inning on a double after the inning started with three straight hits and a sacrifice fly by Oswaldo Cabrera. Volpe finished 2-for-5 out of the leadoff spot and now has 21 RBI on the season.
-Following Volpe’s run-scoring double, New York never trailed again thanks to starter Carlos Rodon who was on his game for most of the night. The lefty did allow a leadoff homer to Ryan Jeffers in the bottom of the first that got the scoring started, and two more singles to follow, but after that, he was nails and allowed New York’s offense to do its thing.
The 31-year-old has now surrendered at least one home run in four consecutive starts and has given up eight long balls in 49.1 innings this season which is something to keep an eye on.
After his wobbly first inning, Rodon settled down and went 6-plus innings and allowed just the one run on six hits while striking out six and walking none. He went out for the seventh inning at 98 pitches, but was pulled by manager Aaron Boone after giving up a leadoff single to Carlos Santana. Still, the lefty got his fourth win of the season.
-The Yankees extended their lead in the third and fourth innings against Minnesota starter Chris Paddack. First came Giancarlo Stanton‘s vicious home run to left center field that traveled 427 feet and had an exit velocity of 114 mph — proving that when he connects, Stanton is still one of the most dangerous hitters in the game. He finished 2-for-5.
New York got a two-out rally going in the fourth started by a walk to Juan Soto. Aaron Judge kept the line moving with a single that brought up Alex Verdugo who promptly doubled home both runners to give the Yanks a 5-1 lead.
-Despite having more chances to add throughout the rest of the game (New York went 4-for-12 with RISP and left 11 men on base), that’s where things stayed until the final out.
–Ian Hamilton and Clay Holmes combined to throw three scoreless innings as the Yankees’ bullpen continues to be a huge asset for them.
-Along with Volpe and Stanton, Gleyber Torres and Cabrera also had two hits each.
Game MVP: Carlos Rodon
-Rodon was more than solid for the second straight start following his lone clunker of the season against the Baltimore Orioles on May 2. Now he just needs to keep the ball in the yard more often.
Highlights
What’s next
The Yankees and Twins continue their three-game set at Target Field on Wednesday night with first pitch scheduled for 7:40 p.m.
RHP Marcus Stroman (2-2, 3.80 ERA) takes on RHP Pablo Lopez (4-2, 3.89 ERA).
Source Agencies
