Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Cole Sands 3.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO
Homeruns: Jorge Polanco (7)
Bottom 3 WPA: Cole Sands -.283, Tyler Duffey -.234, Gary Sanchez -.153
Bottom Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)
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On Tuesday night, the Twins were out to try and make a dent in one of the most frustrating and dominant narratives in sports; the Yankees beating up on Minnesota. Bailey Ober was placed on the IL Monday, resulting in Dylan Bundy, Chris Archer, and Devin Smeltzer being the only healthy starting pitchers for the Twins. Here’s the lineup they put out against the Yankees.
Early on, it looked like it could be an incredibly long night for Twins rookie pitcher Cole Sands. Thrust into an extremely challenging situation, he gave up long home runs to Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton to give the Yankees a lightning fast 3-0 lead. The Twins trimmed the lead to 3-1 on a Max Kepler sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning, off Yankees starter Jamieson Taillon.
Sands settled somewhat in his middle innings, pitching a scoreless second and third with minimal traffic on the bases. Meanwhile, the Twins trimmed the lead to 3-2 in the third inning with a Jorge Polanco double scoring Luis Arraez from first on a good, aggressive send from Tommy Watkins at third base.
An Aaron Judge single in the top of the fourth inning extended the Yankees lead to 4-2. Sands was relieved with two out by Juan Minaya, who got Giancarlo Stanton to strike out swinging to end the inning. In the bottom of the fourth, the Twins scored on a Jermaine Palacios sacrifice fly after back to back singles from Gio Urshela and Gilberto Celestino. A Luis Arraez single put runners at first and second, but a poor at bat from Buxton ended the Twins opportunity to level the game.
In the fifth, the Yankees extended their lead again. Juan Minaya struck out two Yankees, either side of an Aaron Hicks single, then he lost command. He walked the next three Yankees, walking in a run and leaving the bases loaded for Aaron Judge. Minaya was relieved by Yennier Cano, who struck out Aaron Judge to keep the lead 5-3.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Twins cut the lead to a single run for the third time, on a Jorge Polanco solo home run. A Max Kepler single forced Taillon from the game. Despite Sands struggles, he kept the Twins in the game. The offense put on another strong showing in the early innings to stay within touching distance. With Carlos Correa expected back on Wednesday and Joe Ryan close behind, Twins fans have to be encouraged at the gritty performances of their shorthanded team in recent games.
Lucas Luetge relieved Taillon and tried to pick off Kepler at first. A lazy Anthony Rizzo effort allowed the ball to bounce away and Kepler was in scoring position with no outs. The Twins, as has been a recent theme, could not cash the runner and the Yankees led 5-4 heading to the sixth inning.
Yennier Cano looked to be heading towards his most impressive relief out for the Twins after recording two quick outs. He too, subsequently lost the strike zone, walking Josh Donaldson and Aaron Hicks (albeit barely missing a called strike three to each hitter). Cano wriggled out of trouble when former Twin Isiah Kiner Falefa flew out softly to Jorge Polanco to end the threat.
Jermaine Palacios hit a ground ball to short in the bottom of the sixth inning that ate up Kiner Falefa, who, committed the Yankees third error of the game. The Twins were unable to make anything of it. Byron Buxton struck out in a poor at bat to end the inning. Through six innings, the Yankees had committed three errors, and Twins pitchers had walked seven hitters. It was a sloppy but engrossing game. The Twins however, were always one big hit short of tying the game or taking the lead, and trailed 5-4 heading to the seventh.
Tyler Duffey took the ball in the seventh inning, off the back of a dreadful outing in Toronto. Duffey retired the first two hitters he faced, before a weak ground ball from DJ LaMahieu snuck through the infield for a single. Duffey then walked Aaron Judge, the Twins eight free pass of the game. Duffey then fell behind Anthony Rizzo 3-1, before leaving a middle-middle curve ball that Rizzo deposited for a three-run home run, to stretch the lead to 8-4. While Twins pitchers were living incredibly dangerously throughout the game, it was again Duffey, perhaps on borrowed time, whose execution was poorest. It's also worth questioning why Tyler Duffey was the choice to pitch late in a one run game. The Twins bullpen had a day off on Monday, so everyone was well rested. Duffey's second consecutive meltdown put any opportunity to win out of reach.
After a Jorge Polanco single, Rocco Baldelli was ejected for arguing a pitch inexplicably called a foul ball on Max Kepler (who promptly grounded into a double play), a manifestation of the frustration felt by many after keeping the game close for so long. Again, it’s fair to question if Duffey can keep his roster spot with the Twins. He has been almost unusable in recent appearances, and Jharel Cotton has pitched excellently for the Twins when given the opportunity.
Trevor Megill gave up a walk and three consecutive singles in the eighth inning to increase the lead to 10-4. The bottom of the eighth and he ninth inning came and went with little to note (except Megill almost decapitating Josh Donaldson with a high and tight fastball), and just like that, the Twins dropped the opening game of the series. The loss moved the Twins to 38-110 against the Yankees since 2002. In other words, what did you expect?
Bullpen Usage Chart
| THURS | FRI | SAT | SUN | TUE | TOT | |
| Cano | 0 | 0 | 39 | 0 | 33 | 72 |
| Duffey | 0 | 20 | 0 | 28 | 19 | 67 |
| Minaya | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 40 | 64 |
| Megill | 0 | RL | RL | RL | 38 | 38 |
| Duran | 28 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 36 |
| Smith | 0 | 15 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 28 |
| Moran | 0 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 |
| Jax | 0 | 14 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 23 |
| Pagán | 15 | RL | RL | RL | 0 | 15 |
| Thielbar | 0 | RL | RL | RL | 0 | 0 |
Next Up
On Wednesday, the Twins will continue their series against the Yankees. Chris Archer starts for Minnesota, against Nestor Cortes of the Yankees. First pitch is 6:40 CT.
Postgame Interviews
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