The Twins had a little life early, but by the end of Tuesday night at Target Field, the Yankees had turned another home game into a rout.
New York beat Minnesota 8-1 behind a strong start from Max Fried and another rough night for the Twins’ pitching staff, with Bailey Ober lasting just 5.1 innings before the bullpen let the game get away. Ober allowed nine hits and three earned runs while throwing 101 pitches, 69 of them strikes. He also walked two and struck out three.
Cody Bellinger got the Yankees moving right away, punishing one of Ober’s firmer offerings for a two-run homer in the top of the first to put New York ahead 2-0 before most of the crowd had settled in. Ober escaped trouble in the second, and Minnesota answered in the bottom half when Royce Lewis singled, stole second, and scored on an Emmanuel Rodriguez single up the middle to cut the deficit to 2-1.
That was as close as the Twins would get.
Ober gave the run right back in the third after a walk and two singles, though he again worked out of a loaded-bases mess. The damage had already piled up enough that his night was effectively over by the time he got one out into the sixth.
From there, the bullpen took over and things unraveled fast. Taylor Rogers entered with one out and nobody on in the sixth, and by the time the inning ended, the Yankees had stretched the lead to 7-1. Kaelen Culpepper’s error made the last three runs unearned, but Spencer Jones’ home run that helped put the game out of reach did not.
Fried did his part for New York, working seven strong innings as he continued his playoff ramp-up. The Twins, meanwhile, couldn’t do much with their other chances.
Kody Clemens reached on a leadoff triple, but Lewis, Brooks Lee, and Victor Caratini couldn’t bring him home. Andrew Morris also allowed another run as Minnesota’s pitching problems kept snowballing.
There were a few bright spots buried in the loss. Luke Keaschall collected three hits, Rodriguez delivered his early RBI single against a left-hander, and Derek Shelton was ejected late after a check-swing mercy call went against him. But those moments were just brief interruptions in a game that quickly tilted the Yankees’ way and never came back.
In Other News...
Walker Jenkins Is Running Out Of Time To Break Through
Walker Jenkins first stretch in the majors has been a reminder that even elite prospects can hit a wall once the league gets its first look at them. The Twins top prospect has opened his career in a slump, going 0-for-16 over his last five games and managing only four hits in 53 plate appearances, a line that has tested the patience that usually comes with a young players arrival. Even so, Jenkins and the coaching staff have kept pointing back to the same themes: the process is sound, the approach is there and the mental makeup has held up under the early pressure.
The next decision, though, may tell the story of how the Twins want to handle him from here. They sat Jenkins against a left-handed pitcher, a sign they are being careful with matchups while he searches for rhythm, but there is still a chance he could get back in there against another lefty in the following game. For a team that believes in his future, the question is no longer whether he belongs in the conversation - it is how long the organization can afford to wait before the breakthrough starts showing up on the scoreboard. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Suffer Another Rough Night As Rookie Infielder Exits Early
Max Fried finally snapped a long winless stretch, working seven innings and giving up one run as the Yankees beat the Twins 8-1 on another frustrating night for Minnesota. Cody Bellinger and Spencer Jones added home runs to back the effort, while New York kept pace in the AL East chase and stayed 3 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay.
Minnesotas bigger concern went beyond the score once rookie shortstop Kaelen Culpepper had to leave with left hamstring tightness. For a club already trying to piece together offense and stability, any early exit from a young infielder adds another layer to a rough night and leaves the Twins waiting to learn how much time, if any, they might have to manage without him. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Just Took Another Brutal Hit In Their Stretch Run
Kaelen Culpeppers arrival on Aug. 7 gave the Twins a fresh jolt at shortstop, and the top prospect looked the part right away over his first 31 big-league games. For a club trying to keep its stretch run alive, getting steady production from a young infielder was one of the few encouraging developments as the offense continued to sputter after the break.
Now Minnesota has lost that momentum, too. Culpepper has landed on the injured list with a hamstring injury, and the likelihood is that his season is over, leaving the Twins to keep searching for answers in a lineup that has already made their second-half climb much tougher than it needed to be. [Read more 🡒]