The New York Yankees are in town. How will this go?
The Minnesota Twins face their nemesis for the first time since the 2019 postseason and not one Twins fan, unless they’re absolutely new to Twins Territory, needs to be reminded of the miserable history of the Twins against New York. If you do…use the Google Machine.
First…a couple of #Twinsactions:
OF Rob Refsnyder was reinstated from the 7-Day Injured List (IL) (Concussion) and OF Gilberto Celestino was optioned to #TripleA @stpaulsaints who will actually have a pretty decent OF playing in CF because Byron Buxton is starting a rehab assignment tonight in St. Paul at #CHSField AND RHP Kenta Maeda will make a rehab start tomorrow night, too! So…that might be a tough ticket but you should try, right?
The New York Yankees are in town to start a tough 6-game homestand for the Twins as they’ll play 3 against NY followed by 3 vs the #Astros but tonight….
RHP Michael Pineda will take the mound for his 10th start of the season and he’ll be opposed by #Yankees LHP Jordan Montgomery (3-1, 3.92 ERA (Earned Run Average), 1.12 WHIP (Walks+Hits per Inning Pitched))!
With a LHP on the mound, the Twins will go with the heavily right-handed lineup as only OF Trevor Larnach will hit from the left side.
The #FirstPitch has already been thrown and DJ Lemahieu has a leadoff double…with OF Aaron Judge at the plate…
Here….We….GO!
Let’s Go Twins!!!
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Minnesota Twins Lineup:
New York Yankees Lineup:
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Recap
Nice job by Minnesota Twins starting pitcher RHP Michael Pineda to get out of the trouble of a leadoff double from New York Yankees 1B DJ LeMahieu with a couple of ground balls to 3rd from RF Aaron Judge & SS Gleyber Torres and a ground ball to the catcher from DH Giancarlo Stanton to keep the Yanks off the board in the 1st.
LHP Jordan Montgomery struck out RF Kyle Garlick swinging to begin the bottom of the 1st. Josh Donaldson then got the first Twins hit of the game with a hard grounder down the 3rd baseline that Gio Urshela couldn’t field cleanly so infield hit for JD. 2B Jorge Polanco then flew out to center field on the first pitch he saw and that brought up 1B Miguel Sanó who went down 0-2 on the first 2 pitches on a called sinker & a fouled-off changeup. He took the next 3 pitches to work the count full then singled to right field to advance Donaldson to 3rd and bring C Ryan Jeffers up to the plate. He went down 0-2 right away, too, but, just like Sanó, he worked the count back to full with 3 straight takes and…he fouled off the 6th pitch, the 7th pitch & the 8th before hitting a 2-RBI single down the left field line to score Donaldson & Sanó and put the Twins up 2-0. LF Trevor Larnach then struck out swinging to end the 1st. Twins 2-0
“Big Mike” Pineda then needed just 5 pitches to get through the 2nd as RF Kyle Garlick made a great running catch down the right field line for the first out then Gary Sanchez popped out to short and Rougned Odor bunted back to Pineda. The Twins got a 1st pitch single off the bat of returning CF Rob Refsnyder and a 1-out single up the middle from SS Andrelton Simmons then the ump showed his strike zone to Kyle Garlick as he struck out looking at an inside pitch that wasn’t very close and that was the 2nd pitch of the at-bat that was questionable. Josh Donaldson then lined out to short to end the 2nd.
Pineda kept cruising in the 3rd thanks to some more great defense as Miguel Andújar lined out to 3rd on a great lunging/diving catch from The Turtle for the 1st out. CF Brett Gardner then lined out to 2nd and Big MiKe got his 1st strikeout of the game with the strike zone that he & C Ryan Jeffers saw New York get in the top of the inning.
The Twins got a 2-out single from Jeffers but did nothing with it so back to the mound for Pineda and he got a strikeout of Judge and a pop out to short from Torres before giving up a weak grounder through the left side from Giancarlo Stanton then made a fielding error on a swinging bunt to allow Gio Urshela to reach and bring Gary Sanchez up and he hit a hard liner but it was an at-him ball as Andrelton Simmons made a nice leaning catch to end the top of the 4th. Pineda started the inning at 32 pitches (27 strikes) and finished the inning at 54 pitches (44 strikes) so he needed 22 pitches to get through it.
The Twins then went down 1-2-3 on 7 pitches in the bottom of the 4th and Pineda started to struggle as he walked Andújar with 1 out then Gardner got a bloop single and LeMahieu got a single to left field to load the bases and Pineda walked Judge to walk in a run to cut the lead in half and that was it for the night for Michael Pineda as Rocco went to RHP Jorge Alcala with the bases still full with just 1 out and Gleyber Torres at the plate.
Alcala started him with a slider outside that got an ugly swing for strike 1. That was followed with another slider for another swinging strike then another slider close for ball 1 but he then threw a wild pitch* to allow the tying run to come in. He did get Torres to line out to short for the 2nd out and they almost doubled off LeMahieu at 3rd but he got back in time to keep the inning alive. Alcala then got Stanton to ground out to short to end the top of the 5th. Tied 2-2
Did the Twins respond to being scored on?
Not in the 5th inning, they didn’t. They went down 1-2-3 (strikeout swinging, groundout to 3rd & strikeout swinging). The Yankees then got a 1-out single from Gary Sanchez and Minnesota Twins manager brought in RHP Alex Colomé & he gave up a double (4) to Rougned Odor. Sanchez advanced to 3rd. Miguel Andújar then hit a grounder to 3rd that went off Astudillo’s glove but Simmons caught it to keep Sanchez from advancing home on the play. Brett Gardner then flew out to left field and Trevor Larnach made what looked like a very good to maybe great throw but, for some reason, Astudillo cut it off and Ryan Jeffers reacted like he thought it could’ve got Sanchez at home to end the inning to keep the game at 2-2 but…the Yankees took a 3-2 lead. LeMahieu grounded out to short to end the top of the 6th. Yankees 3-2
Miguel Sanó grounded out to 2nd and Ryan Jeffers struck out swinging to begin the bottom of the 6th for Minnesota. Trevor Larnach hit a 2-out single through the left side and New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone looked like he was coming out to make a pitching change but Jordan Montgomery must’ve talked his way into staying in the game to face Rob Refsnyder and…he threw a Wild Pitch to advance Larnach to 2nd then…
The Legend of Rob Refsnyder grew a little more as he hit a game-tying RBI-double (4) that was a matter of inches** from being a 2-run HR to take a 4-3 lead. Refsnyder may have thought the ball was going to leave the park when he hit it but he needed to get to 2nd so he slid kind of hard and it was obvious something was wrong. He just came off the 7-Day Concussion Injured List & a lot of the time, a dive can make those concussion symptoms come back* so he was replaced by Alex Kirilloff and the pitching change was made to RHP Jonathan Loaisiga and he needed just one pitch to get Willians Astudillo out on a ground ball to 3rd. Tied 3-3
*CF Rob Refsnyder left the game due to an injured leg (left hamstring tightness) according to MLB At-. That’s better than concussion problems but not great for #TheLegend.
Kirilloff stayed in the game, playing right field & batting 7th, and RF Kyle Garlick moved to CF. RHP Luke Farrell took over for the Twins to begin the 7th inning and he got Aaron Judge to line out to center then gave up back-to-back singles to Gleyber Torres & Giancarlo Stanton. Torres advanced to 3rd. Urshela hit a weak popup to short right field that was caught by Jorge Polanco and Torres stayed at 3rd. Gary Sanchez then came up to the plate and Luke Farrell GOT HEEM swinging at one of those slider thingies!!! “Slider! You Stink!” Haha Still Tied at 3!
The Twins went down 1-2-3 (all groundouts (to 2nd twice & 3rd)) so into the game came Twins LHP Taylor Rogers to face Rougned Odor, Miguel Andújar & Brett Gardner but OF Clint Frazier pinch-hit for Odor and he led off the inning with a single on a ground ball through the right side. Andújar then did the same thing to advance Frazier to 2nd. Tyler Wade then came in to pinch-run for Frazier. Brett Gardner then hit a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners up a base, Wade to 3rd & Andújar to 2nd and DJ LeMahieu, with the infield in, hit a grounder to Polanco at 2nd and he made a throw to try to cut the runner down at home but it was off target so the Yankees take a the lead at 4-3. Judge then hit a slow grounder that couldn’t be turned into a double play so another run scored to make it 5-3.
The Yankees then challenged the out at 2nd as Andrelton Simmons tried to make the transition as quick as he could and ended up catching the ball just after his foot left 2nd base so back to 1 out and 2 on (1st & 2nd). Then a Torres base hit loaded the bases to bring up Giancarlo Stanton and he grounded into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play but…the damage was done on a couple of errors. Yankees 5-3
The Twins went down 1-2-3 on a Jorge Polanco popup to 2nd, a Miguel Sanó strikeout and a Ryan Jeffers flyout to deep right center field.
In the top of the 9th, Minnesota Twins prospect & Air Force Captain, RHP Griffin Jax came in to make his Major League Debut*** and the first pitch he threw was a bloop hit off the bat of Gio Urshela then he hung a breaking ball and Gary Sanchez hit it out (7) to center field to double the lead to 7-3. Jax then got his 1st career strikeout by getting Tyler Wade swinging but gave up a solo HR (4) to Miguel Andújar but after a Mound Visit, he got Brett Gardner to line out to right field and DJ LeMahieu to ground out to short. Yankees 8-3
The Twins led off the bottom of the 9th with back-to-back singles from left-handed rookies Trevor Larnach & Alex Kirilloff then Astudillo grounded to short in what should’ve been a double play ball but Kirilloff went hard into 2nd and may have affected the throw as it sailed wide of 1st and allowed Larnach to score & Astudillo to advance to 2nd. Simmons & Garlick then grounded out to 3rd to end the game.
New York Yankees 8, Minnesota Twins 4
Final
W-Loaisiga (5-2) L-Rogers (2-3)
Pitching:
Michael Pineda: 4.1IP 4H 2R/ER 2BB 2K
Jorge Alcala: 1IP 1H 1R
Alex Colomé: 0.2IP 1H
Luke Farrell: 1IP 2H 1K
Taylor Rogers: 1IP 3H 2R/ER
Griffin Jax (MLB Debut): 1IP 3H 3R/ER 0BB 1K 2HR
Hitting:
Ryan Jeffers: 2-for-4 – 2B (2), 2 RBI
Rob Refsnyder: 2-for-3 – Game-Tying RBI-2B (4) in 6th
(left game afterwards due to a left hamstring strain)
Larnach: 2H, 2R
Sanó/Donaldson: H, R
Kirilloff/Simmons: H
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Game Notes
*Man, it just seems this is always how it goes when the Twins play the Yankees or, at least, when the Twins start out well. The Yankees just keep battling and the Twins make a couple mistakes to tie the game or take the lead.
**”A matter of inches” seems to always be involved in these games, doesn’t it? Will that be the case in this game? Refsnyder’s game-tying double hit the padding at the top of the fence by the bullpen in center field just inches from being a 2-run HR. It was the case, maybe not on this play although who knows if taking a 4-3 lead instead of just tying the game would’ve made a difference. Most fans would say no because it’s the Twins vs the Yankees but, unfortunately, there’s no way to know regardless of the past. It’s why you play the games. If that ball goes for a home run, Refsnyder probably doesn’t get hurt because he can trot instead of having to dive into 2nd but
There were multiple plays that were…”a matter of inches”… from changing this game. The throwing error from Polanco, the fielding error from Simmons, Astudillo cutting off the throw home, walking in a run and even the Wild Pitch from Alcala that tied the game. Those errors were tough plays to make but the players felt they needed to try to make them to stay in the game and, unfortunately, they weren’t made.
***It seems almost cruel to put Griffin Jax, a rookie pitcher, in the position of facing the New York Yankees as a pitcher for the Minnesota Twins. That’s what every fan will think but, one thing I like about the current regime is they don’t think about if it’s the right situation as much as they believe these are good baseball players and they either need experience and to get him in there to see what they can do.
Ask all Twins fans what they think of watching their team play the New York Yankees and the majority will probably say they know what will happen and that they will never beat the Yankees. I disagree. With most of my TwinsTakes, I try to think about what the major league team will do or how they will react to situations they’re put it and if it’s facing the Yankees at any point in any season, be it the regular season or the postseason, I believe, all through the organization, they want to face them because they’ve struggled against them. The only way to get past that and break through is to play them so… with that being said, it’s… same teams, same time tomorrow night with…
Twins RHP Randy Dobnak (1-5, 6.19 ERA, 1.44 WHIP)
vs
Yankees RHP Gerrit Cole (6-3, 2.26 ERA, 0.87 WHIP)
at 7:10pm on Bally Sports North!
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Twins Minor-League Scores
Coming in a matter of minutes as I’ll post them from AAA down to Low-A because I’m sure you want to know what Byron Buxton did, right?
Omaha Storm Chasers 1, St. Paul Saints 4
Final
W-I. Hamilton (2-0) L-Zuber (0-1)BS(1) S-Coulombe (2)
Saints starter RHP Charlie Barnes had a great start throwing 6 innings of 1-run ball but the bullpen one-upped him by pitching 3 innings of scoreless ball without allowing a hit to get the win & the save as the Saints needed a solo HR in the 7th off the bat of 3B Daniel Descalso to tie the game at 1 then got 3 runs in the 8th after Byron Buxton led off the inning with a single. He advanced to 2nd on a Brent Rooker 1-out walk then was pinch-run for with Jimmy Kerrigan after the pitching change.
The Saints greeted the new pitcher, RHP Tyler Zuber, with back-to-back singles, the 2nd one of the RBI-single variety and it was followed by an RBI-groundout and then scored on a Wild Pitch to go up 4-1.
The bullpen had already taken over but LHP Danny Coulombe closed it out by striking out the first two batters then got a groundout to 3B Daniel Descalso to end the game.
Byron Buxton was 2-for-3 with a triple (1) & a walk in 7+innings of game time.
Pitching:
RHP Charlie Barnes: 6IP 3H 1R/ER 2BB 7K
RHP Ian Hamilton: 2IP 1BB 4K 1 Win
LHP Danny Coulombe: 1IP 2K 1 Save
Hitting:
3B Daniel Descalso: 1-for-4 – Game-Tying HR (1) in the 7th
DH Byron Buxton: 2-for-3 – 3B (1), BB
Here’s how to pronounce his name…if you didn’t know:
For all the media out there, this is how you pronounce our new players name. pic.twitter.com/E8KVZ5lPEf
— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) June 8, 2021
RF Brent Rooker: 1-for-2 – 2 BBs, R
1B Sherman Johnson – 2-R 1B in 8th
SS Drew Maggi – 2H RBI-Groundout in 8th
LF Mark Contreras: H, BB, R
CF Keon Broxton: BB
Wichita Wind Surge 3, Tulsa Drillers 8
Final
W-Zuniga (4-1) L-Phillips (1-2)
Pitching:
RHP Josh Winder: 5IP 6H 2R/ER 1BB 9K 2HR
RHP Alex Phillips: 2IP 2H 3R/ER 1BB 2K 1HR
RHP Ryan Mason: 1IP 1H 3R 1ER 2BB 1K
Hitting:
RF Ernie De La Trinidad: 3-for-4 – RBI-2B, RBI-1B
C Caleb Hamilton: HR (3)
SS Jermaine Palacios: 2BB, 2R
Jeferson Morales/Aaron Whitefield: BB
Cedar Rapids Kernels 4, Beloit Snappers 5
Final
W-Nardi (1-0) L-Griffith (2-2)(BS-2)
Pitching:
RHP Cody Laweryson: 4IP 2H 1R/ER 2BB 4K
LHP Tyler Watson: 2IP 2H 2R/ER 2BB 0K
RHP Owen Griffith: 2IP 2H 2R/ER 1BB 3K
Hitting:
HR: Spencer Steer (5), Wander Javier (2)
2B: Michael Helman (5), Trey Cabbage (5)
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 7, Jupiter Hammerheads 4
Final
W-Bentley (1-1) L-Suriel (1-1) S-German (3)
Pitching:
RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long: 5IP 6H 4R/ER 2BB 9K
LHP Denny Bentley: 2IP 1H 1BB 6K 1 Win
RHP Osiris German: 2IP 2BB 4K 1 Save
Scoring Plays
Top of 2nd
CF Justin Washington 2-R 2B (1) tied the game at 2
Top of 5th
LF Misael Urbina bases-loaded walk in the 5th puts the Mussels up 3-2
Jupiter scored 2 in the bottom of the 5th to take a 4-3 lead
Top of 7th
DH Eduard Julien-Leadoff BB
SS Keoni Cavaco 1B’d to CF, Julien out at 3rd, Cavaco advanced to 2nd
1B Aaron Sabato reached on a fielding error (E6), Cavaco scored to tie the game at 4
RF Jeferson Morales & LF Misael Urbina BB’d to load the bases
C Kyle Schmidt BB’d to put the Mussels up 5-4
3B Yunior Severino BB’d to put the Mussels up 6-4
2B Ruben Santana 1B’d to score LF J.D. Orr, 7-4 Mussels
RHP Osiris German pitched a scoreless 8th & 9th giving up just 2 walks while striking out 4 to earn his 3rd Save of the season
Minor-League Pitcher of the Night
AAA-St. Paul Saints
RHP Charlie Barnes: 6IP 3H 1R/ER 2BB 7K
He went 6 innings in a quality start allowing just 3 hits, 1 run & 2 walks while striking out 7 to keep his team in the game so they could come back and win late in a 4-1 win in St. Paul at CHS Field
Honorable Mention:
Low-A Fort Myers Mighty Mussels
LHP Denny Bentley: 2IP 1H 1BB 6K 1 Win
He allowed just 1 hit & 1 walk but he struck out the side in both the 6th & the 7th to earn his first win of the season.
AA-Wichita Wind Surge
RHP Josh Winder
He allowed 6 hits & 2 runs on 2 HRs but he only walked 1 & struck 9 in 5 innings
Minor-League Hitter of the Night
RF Ernie De La Trinidad: 3-for-4 – RBI-2B, RBI-1B
Ernie had his 4th multi-hit game (& 2nd 3-Hit Game) in the 7th game since the calendar turned to June and he’s now slashing…
.407/.448/.630 (AVG/OBP/SLG)
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