Twins Bats Falter in Opener Against the Yankees
It’s hard to win a baseball game with only three hits. Winning a game in Yankee Stadium with just three hits? Forget about it. That’s all the Twins could come up with Monday night and fell to the Yankees 6-2. Yankees rookie pitcher Will Warren had the Twins' number, going 6.2 innings, striking out seven, and allowing two runs and only three hits to the Twins, who simply never built any momentum. Warren struck out five of the first six batters he saw and only allowed one hit in the first five innings he pitched.
Minnesota did do some damage in the sixth and seventh innings with solo home runs by Byron Buxton and Trevor Larnach, but that was the beginning and end of any noise made by the Twins' offense. The Yankees, on the other hand, did what they do better than anyone in the majors: hit balls over the fence. They added four more home run balls to their total, which now stands at 187. Cody Bellinger started the scoring in the first with a solo homerun. Then Giancarlo Stanton and Ben Rice hit back-to-back solo home runs in the third to give New York the 3-0 lead. Zebby Matthews had the start for Minnesota. Outside of the home runs, he put together a promising start. He threw a career high in pitches with 99 and had nine strikeouts in 5.2 innings.
The Twins' bullpen did not experience the same level of success. Brooks Kriske was first out. After finishing the sixth efficiently, he returned for the seventh and had a rough time. His first four batters of the inning had a double, a walk, and two RBI singles by Aaron Judge and Trent Grisham that put the Yankees up 5-2 with runners on first and second and no outs. Erasmo Ramírez replaced Kriske and, like the veteran he is, retired three straight Yankees, including two strikeouts, to keep the game in striking distance.
Yet the Twins never did strike. Unable to record a hit against the Yankees' bullpen. A bullpen that has faced plenty of criticism this season, and yet the Twins still had no success. A Jazz Chisholm Jr. solo home run in the eighth put a bow on New York’s 6-2 victory. The frustrating day also snapped some hitting streaks for Twins players. Ryan Jeffers saw his 12-game hit streak come to a close with his 0-four day that included two strikeouts. Also, rookie sensation Luke Keaschall was finally denied a hit for a full game in his pro career. Putting an end to his streak after 11 games. Minnesota had a night to forget, but baseball is a marathon, and the team has another opportunity against the Yankees on Tuesday at 6:05 p.m. CST.
