The Yankees were three outs away from a sweep, but the Minnesota Twins scored four in the ninth and walked off with a 7-5 win on Thursday night.
Here are some key takeaways …
– Things quickly fell apart for Aroldis Chapman in the ninth. Entering the game with a 5-3 lead, Chapman allowed a leadoff single to Jorge Polanco before Josh Donaldson jumped on fastball and launched it over the wall in left for a two-run homer to tie the game.
Willians Astudillo then singled, and on Chapman’s ninth pitch of the inning, Nelson Cruz launched his own two-run homer to give the Twins a walk-off 7-5 win.
Chapman did not record an out, allowing four runs on four hits.
– After hitting two home runs on Wednesday night, Giancarlo Stanton picked up right where he left off, smashing a three-run home run off former Yankee J.A. Happ in the first inning. Stanton’s 12th homer of the season gave the Yankees an early 3-0 lead.
The Yankees nearly added another run in the first. After Gio Urshela tripled off the wall in right, he tried to score on a wild pitch, but replay showed that Happ blocked the plate and Urshela was never able to reach home, taking a run off the board.
– Michael King had some control issues early, walking two in the first inning while allowing a run on a Nelson Cruz sac fly. The right-hander held the Twins scoreless in the second and third, but his night came to a close in the fourth after allowing an Andrelton Simmons RBI single, which made it a 4-2 Yankees’ lead.
In all, King went 3.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits while striking out three and walking three, throwing 69 pitches (40 strikes).
– Urshela provided more power in the top of the fourth, drilling a solo home run off the facing of the upper deck in left, putting the Yankees up 4-1. The homer was Urshela’s seventh of the season and the Yankees’ eighth of the series to that point.
– Chris Gittens, still in search of his first big-league hit, scorched a ball over the wall in right in the fourth that was initially called a fair ball and a home run. Unfortunately for Gittens, the umpires got together and (correctly) ruled it a foul ball, which was confirmed by replay.
Gittens ended up going 0-for-4.
– DJ LeMahieu had another one of his patented multi-hit games, going 2-for-5 at the plate. LeMahieu’s second hit of the night was an RBI single in the sixth inning, putting the Yankees up 5-2.
– Gleyber Torres reached base four times on night, three times on hits and once on an error.
Highlights
What’s next
The Yankees have a rare Friday off before heading to Philadelphia for a two-game series against the Phillies, starting Saturday at 4:05 p.m.
Jameson Taillon is scheduled to face fellow righty Vince Velazquez.