By Derek McAdam
June 5, 2024
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The New York Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins in the first game of a three-game series at Yankee Stadium by a score of 5-1, improving to 43-19 on the season. Here’s a quick recap of last night’s game.
Quick Stats: W: Luis Gil (8-1) 6 IP, 1 H, 3 BB, 6 K
L: Bailey Ober (5-4) 5 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
- Last night’s win marked the sixth consecutive win for the Yankees.
- Anthony Volpe extended his on-base streak to 30 consecutive games.
- Twins’ shortstop Carlos Correa recorded his first ever MLB "Golden Sombrero" last night.
The Big Story: After winning seven out of nine games on the West Coast road trip, including a come-from-behind victory Sunday to sweep the San Francisco Giants, the Yankees returned to Yankee Stadium to start a six-game home-stand.
In the 2nd, Gleyber Torres got the scoring going with a solo home run into the first row of the right field seats, his fifth of the season that gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead. The home run looked as if it went off the glove of Twins’ right fielder Max Kepler and right into the stands. Nonetheless, it was a home run for Torres.
In the 3rd, Aaron Judge, also the AL Player of the Month for May, knocked a two-run double down the right field line to score both DJ LeMahieu and Volpe, extending the Yankee lead to 3-0.
While Gil did lose a little bit of control with the three walks, he gave the Yankees yet another quality start with his six shutout innings. With those six shutout innings, his ERA is now sitting at 1.82, the lowest among AL starters and second lowest in all of baseball.
In the 7th, the Twins broke onto the board when Royce Lewis hit a solo home run off Tommy Kahnle, his second home run of the season which made the score 3-1.
However, in the 8th, Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run home run to give the Yankees a couple of insurance runs and make the score 5-1. It was Stanton’s 15th home run of the season and 150th home run as a Yankee.
Luke Weaver came on in the 9th to retire the Twins in order and secure the Yankees another victory.
Player of the Game: Aaron Judge continues to hit the ball so well, and did so last night while also knocking in a couple of runs. He truly has turned his game around compared to the first month of the season.
Notable Performances: Luis Gil kept the Twins off the base paths, for the most part, and was never in a big jam. He continues to be the “ace” of the squad while Gerrit Cole is out of the lineup and has taken the team by storm. Ian Hamilton and Weaver also had a couple of scoreless, quick outings from the bullpen.
Better to Forget: Carlos Correa is definitely wanting to forget this game. Having four strikeouts is never good for anyone, This was his first Golden Sombrero of his MLB career.
My Take: Any team that is playing good, winning baseball is so fun to watch, even if their offense isn’t on fire one night. This was a prime example of last night’s game. The Yankees had three scoring plays: a solo home run from Torres, a two-run double from Judge, and a two-run home run from Stanton. But I was absolutely hooked on the game.
A lot of this has to do with pitching, because the Yankee pitching is as good as I’ve ever seen it since I started watching Yankee baseball approximately 15 years ago. And, they’re missing the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner. There were so many concerns from the fanbase, and myself, that this rotation may be the kryptonite with Cole being out, but it’s been their strongest piece.
Gil continues to just amaze me. Even Aaron Boone has said that he did not expect Gil to be this good, which is incredible given that most managers will use the typical “We knew he had this talent” response. And Gil still has room for improvement, which is wild to say considering his ERA is 1.82. If he can get a little more control and walk fewer batters, there’s no telling how much better he can actually be. Luckily for him, when he walks batters, he doesn’t feel the pressure with men on base and they usually don’t score. Let’s hope Gil can continue to pitch well.
As for the Yankee offense, Torres’ home run was big to get the scoring going. Judge’s two-run double was big in giving the Yankees a little cushion. But Stanton’s home run may have been the biggest scoring play the Yankees had last night. Luke Weaver was going to come in to pitch the 9th, regardless of the score. My assumption is that Boone wanted to give Clay Holmes some extra time off.
So instead of making it a save situation for Weaver, Stanton’s home run gave him a four-run cushion and he was able to retire the side with no issues at all. It’s not to say that Weaver needed those runs or he would’ve blown the Yankee lead, but that had to have been relief for Weaver, knowing he could allow a baserunner, or maybe two, and not be yanked or put more pressure on the bullpen.
Overall, this was another great win from a team that is rolling on all cylinders. Next up, it’s time to go for the series win.
What’s Next?: The Yankees will play the second game of the series tonight against the Twins, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. EST. Chris Paddack is scheduled to start for the Twins, while Carlos Rodon is set to go for the Yankees.
Gil continues to just amaze me. Even Aaron Boone has said that he did not expect Gil to be this good, which is incredible given that most managers will use the typical “We knew he had this talent” response.
Believe it or not, I am not surprised by how well Gil has been pitching. I saw it when he first pitched in the majors in 2021, before he had to have the Tommy John surgery. I remember Gil's Major League Debut against a not-so-good Baltimore Orioles team, and he was practically unhittable in his debut. He had two other starts after that in which he was also extremely dominant and seemingly unhittable and it seemed like he could never lo…
Gil has been so astoundingly, so unexpectedly good that I'm almost entirely pleased
I keep worrying that something has to go wrong
he seems too good to be true
Lola and Mr Applegate somewhere in the background?
They're making a big deal because the Twins traded Gil here for Jake Cave. Well, he was there for the 2015-17 seasons, but yet made his pro debut for the Yankees in 2018. Similar to Cubs top prospect, OF Kevin Alcantara, who was signed with money that the Yankees no longer needed for Ohtani, and sat in rookie ball 2018-2021, when he was included in the Rizzo trade. Hey, if you have these kids for a few years, and don't really play them and years later they become MLB starters or all stars, you have no reason to whine about it.
Oh, I know it's on YES later today, but I watched it last night, Cole was really sharp last…
One game, one inning, one pitch at a time. Don't get too high or low over 60 or so games. Its a very long season. So far, so good. More so than last night against the twinkies, the west coast trip was impressive. They showed us a very workmanlike attitude/approach. The key is to do it for 4 + more months. The LA series will tell us much more than a twins series. Of course, if you dont have apple tv, you wont see a single pitch Friday. Thanks, Hal and Manfred!