Twins 8, Yankees 1: Minnesota’s Offense Routs the Yankees, Even the Series

[Thiéres Rabelo]

Everything clicked for the Twins on Wednesday night. Chris Archer had yet another solid start, and the offense had one of its best performances of the season, helping Minnesota to even the series with a rout of the Yankees.

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Chris Archer, 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 2 K (70 pitches, 42 strikes, 60.0%)
Home Runs: Ryan Jeffers (4), Byron Buxton (13)
Top 3 WPA: Chris Archer (.159), Gio Urshela (.147), Byron Buxton (.100)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Unlike last night, when the Yankees scored four early runs against starter Cole Sands, they were held scoreless through four tonight against Chris Archer and some excellent fielding.

Coming off his best start of the season, Archer was still hungry. He pitched three clean innings on 41 pitches, not allowing a hit nor using more than 17 pitches in any of them. He had some trouble with his command in the second inning, allowing two walks, but the defense also provided a crucial double play.

It felt like his good outing was doomed during the fourth inning. He gave up a leadoff walk to Aaron Judge, then Giancarlo Stanton reached on a throwing error by Nick Gordon and was followed by a Josh Donaldson one-out walk to load the bases. Facing Gleyber Torres, Archer was able to induce a stunning inning-ending double play.

By the time Archer completed four no-hit innings for the Twins, Yankees starter Nestor Cortés had pitched three perfect innings to start the game. Things would change for him in the following two innings.

Minnesota manufactured two runs in the home half of the fourth, taking its first lead in the series. Still struggling to find his mojo, Byron Buxton fought a hard battle with Cortés, hitting a leadoff single after nine pitches. Carlos Correa singled right after him, then Gio Urshela, a couple of at-bats later, scored Buxton from second with a deep single to deep right.

Cortés couldn’t stop the bleeding, allowing another single, this time to José Miranda, on the very next at-bat, good enough to score Correa from second. Max Kepler nearly batted in another run for the Twins when he singled to center, but Aaron Hick’s arm was too strong for Urshela to score from second.

Archer’s no-hit bid and shutout were both finished in the fifth when Hicks hit a leadoff single and later scored on a sac-fly. Fortunately, he was able to finish off the inning, and, for the first time this year, he has recorded back-to-back starts with at least five innings pitched. Have we reached the point in which Twins fans no longer need to doubt him?

After Archer delivered five frames of one-run ball, it was time the offense added some insurance, and that didn’t take long to happen. Ryan Jeffers snapped an 0-for-21 slump by obliterating a cutter from Cortés into a 440 ft bomb to left, making it 3-1 Twins.

Then, Buxton joined the party. Having hit only one home run since May 15, he took Cortés deep for the second time in the inning, making it 4-1 Twins and ending Cortés’ night. Since May 3, this is only the second multi-hit game for Buxton – but the second one in the last six days.

The Twins put themselves in a great position to win the game in the following two innings. Now facing the Yankee bullpen, Urshela and Miranda opened the sixth inning with back-to-back doubles. Then, both of them were brought home on a Kepler groundout and a Trevor Larnach double.

While Griffin Jax tossed two scoreless innings in relief of Archer, the offense continued to be productive. Buxton, Correa, and Jorge Polanco drew three consecutive walks to start the home seventh, allowing Miranda to bat in a couple more runs with his third hit of the night, making it 8-1 Twins.

During the Bally Sports North broadcast, reporter Audra Martin brought up a fun story about Miranda. According to her, the Twins star prospect was approached by Correa in mid-May when he was struggling, batting only .094 for his first 14 games in the majors. Since the two infielders had that conversation during the Kansas City series, Miranda is batting .390.

With a comfortable lead, Emilio Pagán and Caleb Thielbar had no trouble closing out the game. A fielding error by Miranda to start the ninth was erased by yet another double play turned by the Twins defense, their fourth of the night.

What’s Next?
The rubber game of the series is tomorrow, with the first pitch scheduled for 6:40 pm CDT. The Twins turn to Dylan Bundy (5.57 ERA) to try and secure another series win, while the Yankees will have ace Gerrit Cole (2.78 ERA) on the mound.

Postgame Interview

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	SAT	SUN	MON	TUE	WED	TOT
Cano	39	0	0	33	0	72
Duffey	0	28	0	19	0	47
Megill	0	0	0	38	0	38
Jax	0	9	0	0	27	36
Pagán	0	0	0	0	15	15
Thielbar	0	0	0	0	14	14
Cotton	0	13	0	0	0	13
Smith	0	13	0	0	0	13
Duran	0	8	0	0	0	8
Moran	0	0	0	0	0	0

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[BH67]

When's the last time the Twins beat the Yankees by seven runs?

[Dman]

OK I wish I was a believer but I already had this game penciled in as a loss.  Even up 8 to 1 I was waiting for some kind of heart-break comeback. Some how, some way they got it done.  A huge, huge win and I don't care about what happens tomorrow as we took it to their best pitcher and reliever and won't get swept.  Thank you Twins and good luck tomorrow.

[Squirrel]

I think Correa back in the dugout was a difference maker!

[Vanimal46]

The Twins offense has now given 3 top starting pitchers in the AL their worst outing of the season. Let that sink in for a minute. 

Shout out to Archer. He stepped up big time tonight and has overall been pretty solid for us this season. 

Stanton’s antics in RF tonight was a treat to watch. One misplayed fly ball after another. 

Thank god we’re done playing the elite Tigers and Royals so we can continue beating up these AL East scrubs ?

[Aerodeliria]

Props when props are due. Baldelli allowing Archer to pitch into the fifth was huge. (Personally, I couldn't 'tune in' to today's game, so I didn't have to convulse during the fourth inning, but Archer pulled through, and Baldelli--to his credit--stuck with Archer through the fifth.) Good vibes all around.

[big dog]

The Twins were 6-14 with runners in scoring position.

The Yankees were 0-2.

Wow.

[Aggies7]

23 minutes ago, BH67 said:

When's the last time the Twins beat the Yankees by seven runs?

7/24/2015 twins 10, Yankees 1

5/9/1998 twins 8, Yankees 1

8/8/1997 twins 9, Yankees 1

7/14/1995 twins 11, Yankees 4

5/18/1994 twins 13, Yankees 5

 

it hasn’t happened a lot, is what I’m getting at. Kind of funny 4 of those scores came in the mid 90s when the Yankees were in their dynasty and the twins were terrible. Baseball is funny

[Aggies7]

5 minutes ago, big dog said:

The Twins were 6-14 with runners in scoring position.

The Yankees were 0-2.

Wow.

And 4 GIDP for the Yankees. Those RISP numbers have been reversed in seemingly 90% of the Yankees/twins games 

[Puckettsprintstofirst]

Miranda has really turned it around.  Assumed he'd be sent back down when guys started coming off the dl.  Maybe not.

[Game7-91]

A haiku celebrating the dessication of the Empire:

Why runs totalled nine

One only one those brazen Yanks

Scoffed twins from the eights

[2wins87]

Looking at the pitching matchups at the beginning of the week, I thought this game would be their best shot. 

Archer has looked pretty good at other times this season, but he's had a tendency of falling apart a bit after a few innings.  Lets hope tonight was a sign that he's gotten built back up a bit more and might be able to go deeper in the future.

On the other side, Cortes has been great the last two seasons but it seemed like he might have been pitching over his head a bit.  The Twins' hitters have just been very good the last few games though.  They seem to have had good advance scouting reports and have been able to execute on their gameplans.  Even without walking early on they were just grinding out at bats and driving up the pitch count.  After getting a first hand look the hits started coming the second time through the order.

Gerrit Cole will be the toughest challenge yet, but the way the offense has looked maybe there is a chance tomorrow.

[GNess]

The Twins have shown some backbone in these last two series which should serve them well going forward. They are competing hard - fun to watch.

[Aggies7]

2 minutes ago, Game7-91 said:

A haiku celebrating the dessication of the Empire:

Why runs totalled nine

One only one those brazen Yanks

Scoffed twins from the eights

I’m too high for this

[Aerodeliria]

Yesterday: Twins pitches=219

Today: Twins pitches=126

[Squirrel]

38 minutes ago, Game7-91 said:

A haiku celebrating the dessication of the Empire:

Why runs totalled nine

One only one those brazen Yanks

Scoffed twins from the eights

Aren’t haikus 5-7-5?

[terrydactyls]

One little negative comment.  Tonight was a perfect example of why I am strongly against the often espoused theory that defense isn't important at first base.  A good defender at first would not have missed the bag on Jax' great play and would definitely not have dropped Polanco's throw from right field.  Fortunately, neither play hurt tonight.  And as Vanimal46 pointed out, they paled in comparison to Stanton's antics in right field.

[USAFChief]

26 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

Aren’t haikus 5-7-5?

Haiku is an art

Requiring great precision 

And the Yankees suck

 

[LA Vikes Fan]

1 hour ago, Puckettsprintstofirst said:

Miranda has really turned it around.  Assumed he'd be sent back down when guys started coming off the dl.  Maybe not.

He’s hitting .348/.375.692(1.068) in his last 7 games, and .348/.375/.652(1.029) in his last 15. Hard to send him down. This won’t last obviously but you gotta keep playing him. He’s an adventure in the field at first base, but maybe third base would be a better spot . With this team, it’s getting harder to see a spot for Kirilloff or Lewis on the 26 man before the cut to 13 pitchers. An injury will change that analysis and give them opportunities, but right now everyone on the roster is earning their spot.

[Squirrel]

47 minutes ago, terrydactyls said:

One little negative comment.  Tonight was a perfect example of why I am strongly against the often espoused theory that defense isn't important at first base.  A good defender at first would not have missed the bag on Jax' great play and would definitely not have dropped Polanco's throw from right field.  Fortunately, neither play hurt tonight.  And as Vanimal46 pointed out, they paled in comparison to Stanton's antics in right field.

I don’t think he missed the bag, to be quite honest. The fact the call wasn’t overturned resorted in very loud boos from me 

[DJwessmix]

1 hour ago, Aggies7 said:

7/24/2015 twins 10, Yankees 1

5/9/1998 twins 8, Yankees 1

8/8/1997 twins 9, Yankees 1

7/14/1995 twins 11, Yankees 4

5/18/1994 twins 13, Yankees 5

 

it hasn’t happened a lot, is what I’m getting at. Kind of funny 4 of those scores came in the mid 90s when the Yankees were in their dynasty and the twins were terrible. Baseball is funny

Wow. The Twins were so horrible back then, they were up for contraction. How did THAT happen so often? Giving them Knoblauch?

[ashbury]

1 hour ago, Squirrel said:

Aren’t haikus 5-7-5?

Baseball haiku's weird.

Hard to register an out.

Why not just 6-3?

[beckmt]

2 hours ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

He’s hitting .348/.375.692(1.068) in his last 7 games, and .348/.375/.652(1.029) in his last 15. Hard to send him down. This won’t last obviously but you gotta keep playing him. He’s an adventure in the field at first base, but maybe third base would be a better spot . With this team, it’s getting harder to see a spot for Kirilloff or Lewis on the 26 man before the cut to 13 pitchers. An injury will change that analysis and give them opportunities, but right now everyone on the roster is earning their spot.

I don't think Duffey has earned a spot, unless maybe a DFA.  I would rather bring up some of the young kids they are not letting throw more than 3 innings and have them use their bullets here. 

[Mark G]

3 hours ago, 2wins87 said:

Looking at the pitching matchups at the beginning of the week, I thought this game would be their best shot. 

Archer has looked pretty good at other times this season, but he's had a tendency of falling apart a bit after a few innings.  Lets hope tonight was a sign that he's gotten built back up a bit more and might be able to go deeper in the future.

On the other side, Cortes has been great the last two seasons but it seemed like he might have been pitching over his head a bit.  The Twins' hitters have just been very good the last few games though.  They seem to have had good advance scouting reports and have been able to execute on their gameplans.  Even without walking early on they were just grinding out at bats and driving up the pitch count.  After getting a first hand look the hits started coming the second time through the order.

Gerrit Cole will be the toughest challenge yet, but the way the offense has looked maybe there is a chance tomorrow.

I think Jim Kaat put the hex on Cortes when he nick named him Nestor the molester.    

[Mark G]

3 hours ago, terrydactyls said:

One little negative comment.  Tonight was a perfect example of why I am strongly against the often espoused theory that defense isn't important at first base.  A good defender at first would not have missed the bag on Jax' great play and would definitely not have dropped Polanco's throw from right field.  Fortunately, neither play hurt tonight.  And as Vanimal46 pointed out, they paled in comparison to Stanton's antics in right field.

Agreed.  It proves, once again, that there are no throw away positions in baseball.  

[bighat]

Well I'll be damned. After Tuesday's game one would think the Twins might have folded, but they really gave the Yanks all they could handle last night.

Great to see Bux showing emotion again, and with Correa back I think the offense may remain confident. With Polanco heating up we might be finally getting that 1-2-3 punch at the top of the order we've been dreaming about since winter.

How about Rocco pulling Celestino for Larnach - he was looking to pile on to the lead and it worked perfectly when Larnach delivered a PH double to give the Twins some room. Great move by Rocco, as was bringing in Jax and letting him go 2 innings.

Props to Chris Archer, he got his first win as a Twin last night. When's he going to be able to throw 90 pitches? It's June 9th after all, even if he missed all of Spring Training he should be ready to do that by now. Or is Archer just at a 70 pitch limit at this point in his career? If so, I never heard about that.

[Game7-91]

7 hours ago, Squirrel said:

Aren’t haikus 5-7-5?

Horseshoe rules!

[wsnydes]

Stanton in RF was hard to watch, yet thoroughly enjoyable.  

Nice game from Archer.  I think he got away with a lot of stuff over the heart of the plate, but he had the Yankees off balance because he never paid for it.

Another nice day for the bats too.  The Jeffers and Buxton bombs seemed to energize the team too.  Fun to watch.

[rwilfong86]

Another great team victory.

[JDubs]

8 hours ago, big dog said:

The Yankees were 0-2.

Forget holding them to one run, the fact that the pitching staff held the damn Yankees to only getting two players even in position to score is truly something