The Yankees got a great start from Nestor Cortes Jr., and collected 10 hits on the way to a 10-2 win over the Minnesota Twins.
Here are the takeaways…
– Nestor Cortes Jr. breezed through the first with a 1-2-3 inning, including back-to-back strikeouts. In the bottom half of the inning, the Yankees got the bases loaded early with one out after two walks and a hit-by-pitch. Luke Voit then drove in two runs on a line drive single to left field, making it a 2-0 game.
Gary Sanchez singled to load the bases again, and Andrew Velazquez drew a walk to put the Yanks up 3-0. Brett Gardner knocked in another on a single through the infield to make it 4-0, but Sanchez was thrown out at home for the third out.
– Aaron Judge put the Yankees up 6-0 with a two-run homer to right field in the bottom of the second inning. It’s his 27th home run of the season, matching the total he had in both the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
– After a two out walk in the top of the fourth, Cortes gave up his first hit of the game to Rob Refsnyder. He then hit Nick Gordon to load the bases, but got Willians Astudillo to pop out and escape the jam.
– Joey Gallo and Giancarlo Stanton drew back-to-back walks with one away in the fourth, and Voit launched a ground-rule double to left-center field, giving the Yanks a 7-0 lead with runners on second and third. Sanchez flied out to the warning track in right field to end the inning.
– Luis Arraez hit a ground-rule double to the corner in left field in the sixth inning, and then scored on Josh Donaldson‘s two-run home run off Cortes, as the Twins trailed, 7-2. Cortes bounced back in the seventh, tossing a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout. His night came to an end after 104 pitches and a career-high 7.0 IP, allowing just two earned runs on four hits with seven strikeouts (tied a career high) and two walks.
– Voit’s big night continued, as he sent a solo shot into the Yankees’ bullpen in the bottom of the seventh inning, giving them an 8-2 lead. He finished the night 4-for-5 with four RBI.
– DJ LeMahieu hit his first home run since June 26 in the bottom of the eighth inning, a two-run homer to the corner in the left field that stayed fair to give the Yanks a 10-2 lead.
Highlights
What’s next
The Yankees and Twins continue their series on Saturday afternoon at 1:05 p.m.
Gerrit Cole gets the start, and Kenta Maeda takes the mound for the Twins.