Takeaways from the Twins-Yankees series 

1. The Twins won a series vs. the Yankees! And really, the Twins looked like the better team. For the first time since 2001, the Twins won a series vs. dreaded foe the Yankees. After watching this series, I couldn't help but think, "come on, was that really that hard?" Given the history and the fact that it's been twenty years, the obvious answer seems yes, even though the Twins made it look easy this time. Even Byron Buxton was surprised it had been that long since the Twins had a Yankees series win. “Twenty-two years? I was 6,” Buxton said after Tuesday's win, which won the series. “This one felt extra good after hearing that then." From shutting out the Yankees Monday night to keeping Aaron Judge mostly at bay to knocking out three home runs on Wednesday, the Twins looked every part of the stronger team the last few days. Yes, the Twins dropped Wednesday's day game, but Kenta Maeda was clearly hurt, and the Twins' bats and defense came to play (more on that later). But one can't help but feel that the tide might be starting to turn between these two teams, and Twins fans should leave this series feeling optimistic about the team's direction.

2. Twins starting pitching is the real deal. For the most part, the Twins starting pitching was a shining star of this series. Before the season, Sonny Gray was publicly clamoring to go longer in his starts, and Monday night, he went seven scoreless innings, allowed only one hit, struck out eight batters, and lowered his ERA to 0.62 through five starts, which is the best in the entire MLB. Words can not describe how dominant he has looked this season, and Gray got a massive ovation from the crowd following the 7th inning. Joe Ryan cruised Tuesday night and became the first five-game winner in the major leagues this season. However, Kenta Maeda allowed an uncharacteristic seven runs Wednesday, and his fastball was topping out at 87-89 miles per hour, so it was little surprise when he left the game with injury. One has to wonder what his future with the Twins looks like the rest of the season given that young, promising arms like Bailey Ober and Louie Varland are lying in wait in AAA. The Twins’ starting staff is currently 7th in MLB in ERA, and the Twins have three pitchers in the top 25: Gray, Ryan, and Pablo López at #25. When was the last time the Twins had three starting pitchers ranked so high?

3. The Joey Gallo revenge tour came through, and this is really looking like a great signing. Man, is it great to have Joey Gallo back from the Injured List.  Gallo hit two home runs this series on Monday and Wednesday; Monday’s was a towering blast into the right field second porch (just imagine how much further the ball would have gone in warm weather). This past offseason, the Gallo signing was eyed with a degree of skepticism due to his infamously high strikeout percentage, but Gallo certainly came to play vs. his former team, going 1-for-3 on Monday, 1-for-1 with a double on Tuesday, and 1-for-4 with another home run Wednesday. Gallo currently leads the team in home runs with seven and has been solid defensively at first base, and according to Statmuse, he is the only player in MLB to have 5+ HR and an .800+ SLG this season. Mr. Falvey, thank you for signing Joey Gallo! (the reference behind that line here.) 

4. The Twins got more than they bargained for by trading for Michael A Taylor. When the Twins traded for Michael. A Taylor in the offseason, it was for his Gold Glove-caliber fielding; the Twins knew they would be playing Byron Buxton in the DH spot to start the season, and they needed a reliable glove in the outfield to fill in for him. Any hitting he would do would be a great bonus, and the Twins started the season (and have consistently continued) to put him 9th in the batting order. However, he’s been one of the most reliable and consistent Twins bats on the field this year: he has one of the highest batting averages on the team (of the everyday Twins players who haven’t missed time due to injury thus far this season), he is second on the team in home runs behind Joey Gallo, and has both of the Twins’ only two stolen bases of the season; he swiped his second on Monday night. Taylor went 2-for-3 Monday night plus a walk, It will be interesting to see what the Twins do when they transition Buxton back into the field this season. We know that Buxton would prefer to be playing in the field, but if a player can bat around 0.250 in the #9 spot and play phenomenal defense, it’s hard to argue that he deserves a spot in the lineup. 

5. Cold temperatures and the series occurring earlier in the season kept the crowds at bay. The announced attendance at Monday night’s Sonny Gray masterclass was 16,242, the smallest Twins-Yankees crowd in recent memory. Tuesday had 19,201 fans and Wednesday had 20,511 (these figures might be a little generous too). However, early season attendance is always relatively low at Target Field, especially on weekdays. This spring has been colder than usual: temperatures during gameplay were mostly in the 40s throughout the series. Tuesday’s game went almost three hours, so it felt just like the old days, and fans packed under the concourse heaters by the end of the game. This week’s series was also earlier than the Yankees typically visit- usually in June. Still, it was odd to see Target Field so empty during what is usually one of the most in-demand series of the year. Thankfully, the Twins took care of business on Monday and Tuesday nights, so the pinstripe fans in attendance did not have much to heckle about, and Wednesday's day game had a beautiful, strong sun for fans to bask in. The Yankee fans in attendance (a good number) had a lot more to hoot and holler about on Wednesday. 

6. Duran and López’s entrances are two of the best in baseball. The Twins have turned both pitchers entering the game into a show within The Show. Before López entered the game on Tuesday night, the Twins prompted fans to take out their phones and turn their flashlights on. The Twins did the same thing the very next inning, when Jhoan Duran entered the game to shut the door.

These dramatic entrances, complete with turning off then flickering the stadium lights, is something that needs to be experienced by Twins fans and is best when under the lights. The entrances of these two Twins pitchers rival only Fernando Rodney's Twins entrance song to me. It's pretty impressive that the Twins' bullpen is so deep that they have not one but two pitchers who are deserving of the Edwin Diaz-treatment; even the 8th-inning setup pitcher (whether it be Duran or López) is good enough to turn Target Field into a concert. 

7. There were a lot of fun in-stadium moments in the series. Two hilarious moments happened during Wednesday’s day game: the Twins showed two construction workers on the big screen working on the new apartment going up across the street in left field. The entire crowd roared while they obliviously continued working. Then, somehow the two workers caught on, and with huge smiles, they waved to the crowd. I wonder if they looked down at the field and saw themselves on the big screen in the right field.

Tuesday night was a massive sports night for the  Minnesota: the Wild were playing game 5 in Dallas, the Timberwolves were playing an elimination game 5 in Denver, and at home, the Twins were taking on the Yankees for a series win. The Twins put the scores of the Timberwolves and Wild on the visiting team scoreboard, which, although the scores were slightly delayed, made it a little easier to follow them. 

There was also that bat flip from Buxton on Tuesday.

Last, I noticed that the "T" on the "Win Twins" sign is already burnt out! That didn't lost too long, did it! However, of all the possible letters to burn out, the "T" is probably best; once it gets dark, the sign reads "Win! wins!" Double the Twins wins, right?

Up next is a four-game series vs. the Kansas City Royals! Hopefully the Twins can carry this momentum and take care of business against a division "rival." The state of the Twins could not be much better right now, especially if top bats like Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa heat up even more. Twins fans should feel good about how the team looked this series. See ya at the ballpark!