Minnesota Twins

New York Yankees: Gregorius, Tanaka, Knocks the Twins Down in Game 2 of the ALDS

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New York Yankees shortstop, Didi Gregorius.

Another outstanding performance from the New York Yankees led to a 8-2 victory against the Minnesota Twins in game 2 of the ALDS.

Masahiro Tanaka pitched a marvelous gem, producing 5 strong innings and allowing 3 hits, 1 run and struck out 7 batters on 83 pitches. The bullpen, which consisted of Adam Ottavino, Jonathan Loaisiga, Tommy Kahnle and Tyler Lyons pitched 4 solid innings and allowed a combined 3 hits, 1 run and struck out 7 batters on 64 pitches

Just as the Bronx Bomber did in game 1 of the ALDS, they exploded in game 2 with a feeding frenzy. Edwin Encarnacion, who doesn’t believe in the definition of rusty, drove in an RBI single in the bottom of the 1st, granting the Yanks with a 1-0 lead.

The bottom of the 3rd led to a massive 7-run rally that ultimately lifted the Yanks to a huge victory. Giancarlo Stanton started the rally with a bases loaded sac fly to deep center field. Gleyber Torres immediately after ripped an RBI single to left field.

Didi Gregorius hammered the final nail in the coffin with a grand slam to deep right field, traveling 369 feet with an exit velocity of 102.1 MPH. Brett Gardner added the icing on the cake with an RBI single to right field, granting the Yanks with a 8-0 lead.

The Twins recorded their first run of the game in the top of the 4th. On a 3-1 count with 1 out, Mitch Garver smoked a ground ball against the shift into right field. Luis Arraez knocked in the last run for the Twins offense in the top of the 9th, lifting an RBI double to right-center field.

Loaisiga sealed the deal in the top of the 9th and the rest is in the history books. The offense was electric just as it was last night, the defense was fantastic and the pitching was tough as nails. The Yanks are now one more game closer to championship 28. Both organizations will be picking the series back up in Minneapolis on Monday night.

 

New York Yankees: Big Maple announced as Game 1 starter for ALDS

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New York Yankees, James Paxton

The New York Yankees will begin their 2019 postseason run on Friday against the mighty Minnesota Twins in the American League Division Series. James Paxton will take the mound for the Yankees for game one at Yankee Stadium.

“I expect him to go pitch really well,” said manager Aaron Boone. “(He’ll) have a ton of confidence in his ability to do that. He’s got, obviously, all the weapons and all the equipment to go out there and be great.”

Paxton has been lights-out in his last ten starts of which he has won. He posted a strong 15-6 record during the regular season and was credited to a 3.82 ERA. In 29 games started and 150.2 innings pitched, the “Big Maple” fanned 186 players respectively.

The left-hander has also posted strong numbers pitching in pinstripes at home. Paxton was credited to a 3.35 ERA at home compared to a 4.33 ERA on the road.

“He’s really done a good job in kind of settling into being here in New York, being a Yankee,” said Boone. “I have no reservations about him not being able to not flourish in the environment.”

Masahiro Tanaka will take game two in the Bronx and Luis Severino will pitch the third game of the series in Minnesota.

CC Sabathia was left off the ALDS roster because he’s still dealing with shoulder troubles, per Aaron Boone. Sabathia, who is planning on retiring following this season, received a cortisone shot last week in his shoulder and did not respond well which causes his removal from the roster.

New York Yankees: What Team will Hit More Home Runs this Season?

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New York Yankees, Gary Sanchez

The New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins are currently in a historic race for most home runs as a team, in a single season. Near the end of August, the Twins broke the Yankees’ record for most home runs by a team in a single season. The Yankees’ bats have not slowed down, with all of these injuries, and have roared back to take the lead near the end of the season.

The current stats of team home runs has the  New York Yankees at 305, and the Twins at 303 (MLB.com). The Yankees easily won the race and broke the record last season with 267 home runs as a team (MLB.com). A large part of that total is the top three leaders for the team, Torres (38), Sanchez (34), and Gardner (28) (MLB.com). Out of everyone in the lineup that can mash baseballs, who would have thought Brett Gardner would be a top-three home run hitter on the team this year?

What could be the explanation for this power surge?

Aaron Judge was asked in an interview whether the Yankees could break their own record at the beginning of the season and responded, “We are going to crush that number.”

Clearly, Judge was right, but no one expected this power surge from the Twins. The Twins have made this race unprecedented, with now being the first time a team has reached 300 home runs in a single season.

The possibility of “juiced baseballs” could explain why so many home runs have been hit this year. That can be a misconception of the fact that pitcher’s overall fastball velocity has increased over the last decade. Also, that idea would not explain why strikeouts have increased over the last decade as well. Spin rates are now a big part of grading and analyzing pitchers’ stuff at the big league level. There are many other variables that lead to these statements, but the game has just changed in a positive way for both the offensive and defensive facets of baseball.

New York Yankees set to play Twins for ALDS

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New York Yankees, James Paxton

The New York Yankees will begin their postseason run this Friday where they take on the Minnesota Twins in game one of the American League Divison Series.

“They’re a beast,” said manager Aaron Boone. “We know how dangerous they are…and not to just cover all my bases here but I look at everyone that’s in this playoff mix as very real, very scary and capable of beating anyone.”

The Yankees hold a 4-2 record against the Twins this season and have historically always dominated them.

“We understand the history,” said team president Dave St. Peter. “Organizationally, I just say it’s time to slay the dragon, right?”

The last time to two teams matched up in the postseason came during the 2017 Wild Card game when the Yankees beat the Twins 8-4.

The series will definitely be filled with high-scoring games. Both teams have slugged the baseball all year long, where the Yankees are currently at 305 home runs and the Twins have slugged 303 bombs.

“Let’s go. Bring ‘em on,” St. Peter said. “We don’t get to pick who we play. No time like the present to break that curse, so to speak.”

Hal Steinbrenner, son of George Steinbrenner, has other plans. “We’ve got as good a chance as anybody. October is still October, right? Got to stay focused…(There’s) a long way to go, but we’re going in strong.”

It’s believed that James Paxton will be the game one starter for the New York Yankees. Masahiro Tanaka and Luis Severino are believed to be the apart of that starting rotation for the playoffs.

New York Yankees: Shut Out For the First Time in Over a Year

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New York Yankees, Aaron Judge

On Labor Day, Monday, September 2, 2019, the New York Yankees were shutout by Mike Minor and the Texas Rangers.

Minor went 7 and 1/3 innings, allowed 5 hits, one walk, struck out 5, and lowered his ERA to 3.12 (Baseball-Reference). This outing could make the Yankees front office second guess their decision to not get a starting pitcher at the deadline.

The Yankees only amassed 6 hits in the game and left six runners on base (Baseball-Reference). Mike Tauchman had two, Tyler Wade, Gary Sanchez, Mike Ford, and Luke Voit each had a hit (Baseball-Reference). The Yankees have seemed to struggle against some of the teams in the AL West the past few seasons.

One Shutout will not Stop this Offense

The last time the Yankees were shutout was June 30, 2018, against the Boston Red Sox (mlb.com). This team has lost a lot of games since then, but they were not shutout in any of them. That is fascinating. This offense has revolutionized the value of powerful bats up and down the lineup. They have set records: most home runs by a team (until the Twins passed them two days ago), most home runs in a calendar month as a team, and consecutive games with a home run as a team. Those records should not be taken lightly.

Again, once everyone is healthy, whether it is the end of the season or next season, there is no record that this offense cannot break. Anyone can lead the offense on any given day, that is what makes this offense different from any other in MLB history. The New York Yankees’ offense should be a force come the postseason, especially at home with the lively crowd at their backs.

Series Preview: New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins

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New York Yankees, Luke Voit

The New York Yankees will head home to the Bronx following a lengthy west coast trip,  finishing 6-3 on the week. They will take on a strong Minnesota Twins team, who are currently 18-10 and are leading the AL Central. Having dropped the last two games, the Bronx Bombers look for another series win.

Game One: James Paxton vs. Kyle Gibson

James Paxton is coming off a three-game winning streak, with his last outing being against the San Francisco Giants. Paxton went 5.2 innings, allowing two earned runs and fanned eight. The strikeout count has been high for the Yankees’ left-hander, as he tied the club’s record of 12 strikeouts in consecutive outings. Paxton currently has 51 strikeouts on the season. The Twins are throwing RHP Kyle Gibson, credited with a 4.88 ERA on the year. After starting with a 7.36 ERA, Gibson has settled down; only allowing three earned runs in his past two outings.

Game Two: J.A. Happ and Jake Odorizzi

J.A. Happ‘s start to the season has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride. A recurring theme has been apparent in each of his outings, where he has allowed runs in the early innings of the game and then settling in through the later innings. Yankees’ offense has helped Happ, as they been able to come back from run deficits. Regardless of Happ’s early struggles, his most recent outing against the San Francisco Giants was dominate. Going the distance (7.0 IP), Happ allowed five hits and no earned runs.  Twins’ crafty RHP, Jake Odorizzi, is coming off a strong outing against the Houston Astros, where he outdueled Astros’ ace, Justin Verlander. Odorizzi, commanding his slider and cutter, was able to shut down the Astros offense in only 86 pitches.

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Game Three: Domingo German and Michael Pineda

Game three will be one of the most anticipated games this series. Domingo German, who has stepped up in Luis Severino‘s absence due to injury, has been everything the Yankees needed. Taking the ace role, German has a 5-1 record with a 2.56 ERA. Ex-Yankee, Michael Pineda will be taking the mound for the Twins. Yankee fans remember Pineda’s dominance in the Bronx, as he was considered the ace of the pitching staff during the 2014 season. This season, Pineda has struggled. Coming off a two-game losing streak, Pineda is credited with a 6.21 ERA in 29.0 innings pitched.

Players to watch

Yankees’ hitter Luke Voit poises a threat at the plate, as he is coming off a hot week on the west coast. In the last seven days, Voit batted .435 with seven RBIs and two home runs. Twins’ shortstop Eddie Rosario looks to do damage at the plate, as he leads the team in home runs (11).