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The Twins traveled to The Bronx to start a big four-game series. There are a ton of ties between the two organizations, and several former teammates contributed, especially early in the game. Some good things happened, but ultimately, they let the guy you can't let beat you... beat you. Image courtesy of Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Chris Archer: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K (76 pitches, 48 strikes (63.2%) Home Runs: Gary Sanchez (10) Bottom 3 WPA: Trevor Megill (-0.257), Jose Miranda (-0.143), Luis Arraez (-0.069) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Old Friends in New Places When you consider the dominance that the Yankees have held over the Twins over the past couple of decades, it’s hard to believe that there are so many players who have moved from one team to the other via trade or in free agency. Obviously the big move was the spring trade that sent Josh Donaldson, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ben Rortvedt to The Bronx in exchange for Gio Urshella and Gary Sanchez. Aaron Hicks is in his seventh season in pinstripes, and could remain there through the 2026 season. He signed a seven-year, $70 million deal after a 2018 season in which he received MVP votes. Marwin Gonazalez played for the Twins in 2019 and 2020. He split 2021 between the Red Sox and Astros, and this season, he has played in 66 games for the Yankees. In addition, the Twins acquired Jake Cave from the Yankees prior to the 2018 season in exchange for hard-throwing Luis Gil. At the time, Gil had pitched only in the Dominican Summer League, but since has become a high-end prospect who debuted in 2021 but needed Tommy John surgery earlier this year. While he came from the Reds, Sonny Gray spent part of 2017 and all of 2018 with the Yankees. Combined, he went 15-16 with a 4.51 ERA over 195 2/3 innings. More Fun Connections Nick Gordon batted cleanup for the Twins in this game. As we know, his father, Tom, pitched 22 seasons in the big leagues including two great seasons with the Yankees in 2004 and 2005. He was an All Star in 2004 and had a 2.38 ERA over 170 1/3 innings over the two seasons. Yankees right-fielder Oswaldo Cabrera made his MLB debut on August 17th and Monday was his 18th big-league game. The 23-year-old’s older brother, Leobaldo Cabrera (24) has spent the 2022 season with the Wichita Wind Surge. Has To Feel Good Those #OldFriends accounted for the scoring early in the game. In the bottom of the first, Josh Donaldon hit a single off the wall in left field to drive in Aaron Judge. 1-0 Yankees. Two innings later, Marwin Gonzalez hit his fourth home run of the season. 2-0 Yankees. In the top of the fifth inning, Gary Sanchez hit a ball 115.1 mph at a 30-degree launch angle, and it traveled 473 feet from home plate, well beyond the outfield fence. Jake Cave had walked prior to the homer. Game Tied 2-2. Archer Negates Taillon Coming into the game, the pitching matchup of Chris Archer vs. Jameson Taillon looked like a major mismatch. If they matched up often, it likely wouldn’t bode well for the Twins. However, on this day, the two pitchers ended up with a very similar line. Both went five innings and gave up two runs. Taillon gave up two runs on six hits, including one homer. He walked two and struck out three batters. Archer gave up two runs on four hits, including one homer. He walked two and struck out two batters. Bullpen Game The bullpens took over a tie game in the sixth inning. The Yankees brought in Greg Weissert. Gio Urshela got on thanks to an error by Josh Donaldson, but the Twins were unable to score him as the next three batters were retired. Trevor Megill was the Twins sixth-inning man. Gleyber Torres led off with a line-drive single to right field. On a 2-2 pitch, Megill hung a curveball to Aaron Judge who hit the ball 110 mph at a 34 degree launch angle. It landed 404 feet from home plate, in the second deck in the left field bleachers. Giancarlo Stanton grounded out, but then Donaldson walked. Fortunately, Jose Trevino grounded into a double play to end the inning. As Glen Perkins said several times on the broadcast, Judge was the one guy in the Yankees lineup that you just can't let beat you. And they let him beat them. Now down 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Twins were certainly not going to use their top relievers in back-to-back days. So Emilio Pagan came on, presumably with the goal of working two innings. With one out, Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit just his second home run of the second. It wasn’t as prodigious as Sanchez or Judge’s homers, but it counts just the same. Pagan began the bottom of the 8th inning by striking out Aaron Judge. Aaron Hicks pinch hit for Stanton, and the Twins brought in Austin Davis for his Twins debut. The southpaw struck out by Hicks and Josh Donaldson to end the inning. (Learn more about Davis here.) Twins bullpen line: 3 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. Yankees bullpen line: 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== What’s Next? The Twins continue this four-game series with the Yankees. Here the the remaining pitching matchups in the series. Each game will start at 6:05 central time and air on Bally Sports North. Tuesday, RHP Joe Ryan (10-7, 3.88 ERA) vs RHP Gerrit Cole (10-7, 3.28 ERA) Wednesday: TBA vs Domingo German (2-3, 3.12 ERA) Thursday: RHP Sonny Gray (7-4, 3.18 ERA) vs. TBA Speculation Wednesday’s spot in the rotation is the one vacated by Tyler Mahle. I’d present two options. The first is fun. Call up Minnesotan Louie Varland to make his MLB debut at Yankees Stadium. The reigning Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year (and a leading candidate to repeat in 2022) would be exciting, regardless of what he did. Option #2 is that the Twins have Aaron Sanchez return to the rotation. He last pitched on Friday night, coming in for Mahle in the third inning and throwing 70 pitches in relief. This may not be exciting, but personal opinion, it’s probably the right decision. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Sanchez 0 0 70 0 0 70 Fulmer 0 17 0 14 0 31 Duran 0 11 0 20 0 31 Jax 0 20 0 8 0 28 Thielbar 0 13 0 15 0 28 Megill 0 0 0 0 27 27 Pagan 0 0 0 0 22 22 López 0 13 0 0 0 13 Davis 0 0 0 0 11 11 View full article

As rosters can be increased to 28 on Thursday, the Minnesota Twins have added a left-handed reliever to their roster. The Twins claimed 29-year-old Austin Davis from the Red Sox. Learn more about the southpaw. The Boston Red Sox DFAd Austin Davis on Sunday. On the season, the lefty had worked in 54 1/3 innings over 50 appearances. He was 2-1 with a 5.47 ERA. He had 29 walks but also struck out 61 batters. The 29-year-old has pitched in 134 big-league games dating back to his 2018 MLB debut with the Philadelphia Phillies. He remained with them until 2020 when he was traded to the Pirates. He remained with Pittsburgh until last year's trade deadline when he was traded to the Red Sox for Michael Chavis. Originally drafted in the 12th round of the 2014 MLB draft from Cal State-Bakersfield, he will be arbitration-eligible for the first time after this season. In other works, in theory, the Twins could keep him through the 2026 season. While the numbers haven't been great, it might be clear why the Twins specifically would have interest in him. In three career games against the Twins, Davis has given up just one hit. Twins batters have hit .067/.125/.133 (.258) against him. He has struck out seven Twins batters in 4 2/3 innings (16 batters faced). Davis has thrown his fastball, which has averaged 94.1 mph, 45.4% of the time. He has thrown 39.5% sliders this year which have averaged 90.6 mph. He also has a mid-80s changeup that he'll throw occasionally. As you can see from his StatCast numbers over at Baseball Savant, he hasn't allowed a lot of hard contact, but other than that, he doesn't have any carrying traits. That said, the Twins need a left-hander to team with Caleb Thielbar in the Twins bullpen, and Davis could fill that role. It's a role I'm sure they'd love to just let Jovani Moran take and run with, and frankly, he has while with the Twins. In 23 1/3 innings, he has posted a 1.93 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He has struck out 31 batters. However, he has also walked 15 batters. Hence the concern. In addition, he has posted a 6.00 ERA and 1.63 WHIP in his 24 innings with the Saints this year. However, it is possible that all three will remain on the roster throughout September. With rosters expanding to 28 players on Thursday, the Twins will be able to add one pitcher. Austin Davis will likely be that guy. He won't have to travel far. In fact, he was traveling with the Red Sox and is at Target Field. He just has to pack up a bag and head over to the home clubhouse. A few days ago, Tim Beckham was designated for assignment, so the Twins did not need to make an additional 40-man roster move to clear space for Davis. Speaking of Beckham, he did clear waivers and was outrighted to St. Paul. However, he elected free agency. According to Darren Wolfson, he could be back. In addition, Tyler Duffey has a new home. He opted out of his minor-league deal with the Rangers and has now signed with the New York Yankees. View full article