Yankees snap seven-game skid with 5-2 win over Twins
- Davis Cornell
- Jul 3
- 4 min read
The Yankees took down the Twins 5-2 to snap their seven-game losing streak. Gerrit Cole got the starting nod and faced off against Mike Paredes.
“I think it was really good,” Trent Grisham said. “Look, if we get to where we want to get to, we're gonna go through stretches like that, so I think it makes us better going forward. We showed out really well tonight.”
Cole quickly picked up the first two outs of the ballgame, then Kody Clemens crushed a solo shot to left-center field, giving the Twins a 1-0 lead.
In Grisham's first at-bat since returning from the IL, he crushed a solo home run into the second deck in right field to even the score.
“I mean, it was just it's a lot of fun to be back,” Grisham said. “Great energy tonight around the ballpark, holiday weekend. Guys are fired up after an off day to get going again, and that's what we did.”
In the top of the second, Cole navigated around a leadoff double and picked up his third strikeout to work a shutdown inning.
After a 53-minute rain delay, Grisham drilled a two-out single to right field in the bottom of the third inning. Ben Rice followed with a two-run bomb into the short porch in right field to give the Yankees a 3-1 lead.
Cole surrendered a double to lead off the fourth inning. Then Victor Caratini came through with a two-out RBI single to make it a 3-2 game. It looked like the Yankees picked up the third out of the inning, but Austin Wells and Paul Goldschmidt collided, allowing the ball to drop in foul territory. But no harm, no foul, as Cole picked up his seventh strikeout to end the frame.
Cole allowed a one-out double in the top of the fifth inning, but picked up a groundout and a flyout to put together a scoreless frame.
Brent Headrick replaced Cole on the mound in the top of the sixth and worked a 1-2-3 inning with a pair of strikeouts.
Final line for Cole: Five innings pitched, five hits allowed, two earned runs, didn't walk anybody, and struck out seven on 88 pitches. He threw his fastball over half the time at 52%, the slider 20%, the changeup 18%, and the knuckle curve 9%. Cole topped out at 99.1 mph, averaging 97.3 on his heater, and had eight swings and misses.
Cole had to fight Aaron Boone to keep him in the game after the fourth inning, and he rewarded his manager with a scoreless fifth inning.
“We're in a rut. We needed this win today," Cole said. "You gotta do hard stuff in this league sometimes, man. Sometimes it's not fun. It's not fun to sit around for an hour and 20 minutes throwing bullpens, but it's what was needed.”
Paul Blackburn took over for Headrick in the top of the seventh and retired the Twins in order with a couple of strikeouts.
Ryan McMahon led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a double down the first base line, his first hit since being activated from the IL earlier today. The next batter, José Caballero, dunked an RBI bloop single into center field to extend the Yankees' lead to 4-2. Caballero stole second, then Wells laid down a perfect sac bunt to move Caballero up to third. Grisham drove in Caballero with a sacrifice fly to tack on another run.
Fernando Cruz came in relief for Blackburn in the top of the eighth and gave up a leadoff infield single followed by a walk to bring the tying run to the plate with nobody out. Then, with two outs walked a batter to load the bases. But Cruz induced a groundout to work into and out of trouble, keeping the Yankees' lead at three runs; Cruz was pumped up coming off the mound.
Yankees closer David Bednar, who missed the last three games on the paternity list, got the call for the top of the ninth and struck out the side in order to record the save and put an end to the Yankees' losing streak.
The Yankees will look to win the series tomorrow; Brendan Beck will get the start after Carlos Rodon was placed on the IL earlier today. Zebby Matthews will get the start for the Twins. First pitch is slated for 1:35 p.m. ET on the YES Network.
My thoughts on the game: It feels good to get back in the win column. If the Yankees couldn't beat the Twins, whom they have historically owned over the last two decades, I would have been concerned. Cole was solid today, definitely much better than his last two starts. The Yankees bullpen did their job, as Headrick, Blackburn, Cruz, and Bednar combined for four shutout innings, with seven strikeouts. Cruz did give me a bit of a heart attack, but he ended up doing his job. Blackburn's ERA is down to 2.34, and Headrick’s ERA is down to 1.49. It was great having Grisham back in the lineup; he had a pair of hits and a couple of RBIs and got the Yankees' offense going early with a homer. McMahon had a double to start a rally in the seventh inning. Rice, who has really struggled as of late, got off the schnide with a big two-run bomb. Just a great win all around. Now, on to tomorrow as the Yankees will look to win the series.
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