About Last Night: YANKS WIN, SWEEP TWINS

By Paul Semendinger

June 7, 2024

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Last night, the Yankees squared off against the Minnesota Twins in the final game of their three game series. Heading into the game, the Yankees had not lost to the Twins in 2024.

After the game, they still hadn't lost to the Twins in 2024. The Yankees swept the season series against the former Washington Senators franchise. The Yankees have won eight consecutive games.

Quick Note - I apologize for the lack of a 2:00 p.m. post yesterday. Something got messed up, I had an article planned, on Butch Hobson, continuing the 1977 Topps series. I have no idea why the article did not publish. That article will come at 2:00 today.

Also, Thank You! - A since thank you to all those who have served our country. Tonight (as I write this on June 6) is the 80th anniversary of D-Day. I cannot imagine what that was like. I respect and honor the sacrifices those soldiers made, on D-Day, and throughout the war, for all of us.

About Last Night:

Last night started off as a homer-happy night:

• Carlos Correa hit a solo homer in the first inning for the Twins (Twins up 1-0)

• Trent Grisham hit a 2-run homer for the Yankees in the second inning (Yankees up 2-1)

• Christian Vazquez hit a solo homer in the third inning for the Twins (Tied 2-2)

Then the homers stopped, but the scoring didn't:

• Juan Soto walked

• Aaron Judge walked

• Giancarlo Stanton walked

  • And then Anthony Rizzo had one of the worst at bats I have seen in a long time, swinging at everything and striking out. (Anthony, the guy walked three consecutive batters, take a strike. This isn't difficult.)

• Gleyber Torres then hit a bouncing ball double up the first base line to score two runs.

• Austin Wells hit a sacrifice fly to score Giancarlo Stanton. (Yanks up 5-2)

Marcus Stroman didn't have his best stuff, but he battled, and kept the Yankees in the game, at least until the fifth inning (see below).

The Yankees scored two more runs in the fourth inning. With one out Anthony Volpe had an infield single. After a Juan Soto pop out, Aaron Judge walked. Volpe and Judge pulled off a double steal, the throw to third was off line and sailed into left field which allowed them both to move up a base (scoring Volpe). Giancarlo then singled home Aaron Judge. (Yanks up 7-2)

Marcus Stroman then gave back a few runs in the fifth. A walk, a double, a sacrifice fly, a ground rule double (this was getting too close for comfort), and after an out and a hit batter, he was lifted for Ian Hamilton, who allowed a run-scoring single. (Yanks up 7-5)

An Austin Wells single followed by an Oswaldo Cabrera single and a Trent Grisham sacrifice fly gave the Yankees another run. (Yanks up 8-5)

And then came the most dreaded of events for the Game Summary Writer - a rain delay. UGGGG!

Play resumed after 56 minutes. I used the time to read some of Dead Wake by Erik Larson. This book tells the tale of the Lusitania's last voyage. I'm 48 pages in... and it is very good so far. I have seen many of Larson's books, but never read him before.

Victor Gonzales came in and pitched for the Yankees. He recorded two outs, walked a batter and was lifted. Luke Weaver came in, gave up a hit, but got the Yanks out of the sixth inning. He then pitched a scoreless seventh. Tommy Kahnle pitched the eighth. He allowed two runners, but didn't allow a run. Clay Holmes closed it out.

Of note, once play resumed, Juan Soto wasn't in the game. It is said he had left forearm discomfort. Oh boy. I don't like hearing that.

Quick Stats:

• Marcus Stroman: 4.2 ip, 6 hits, 5 runs, 2 walks...

• The Yankees' batters walked eight times!

• WP - Luke Weaver

• LP - Pablo Lopez

• NYY HR - Trent Grisham

Big Story - The big story is that the Yankees are The Story. In New York sports, it's the Yankees or nothing right now. The Mets are terrible. Fans might hope on the football Giants and the Jets, but, football season is a long way away - and the basketball and hockey playoffs are also a longer way off. For sports excitement in New York, it's the Yankees or nothing.

Player(s) of the Game - This is a tough one. A lot of players played pretty well. Trent Grisham had three runs batted in. Anthony Volpe had a hit, a stolen base, a run, and a few nice defensive plays. They both get the nod.

Notable Performances - Gleyber Torres has two runs batted in.

Better to Forget - Let's hope the Juan Soto arm discomfort is nothing. Oh boy. He is an essential part of why this team is so good and so fun to watch. If he's hurt, that's bad news. Very bad news.

My Takes and Other Thoughts:

Giancarlo Stanton has to be the slowest runner I have ever seen. He simply jogs, always. In Strat-o-Matic, the slowest runner rating I have ever seen is 1-8. I have to wonder if Stanton's card next year will be a 1-7. He is that slow. When I walk during the final miles of a marathon I'm probably faster than Stanton runs right now.

Once Jasson Dominguez returns, it seems that the obvious player to be traded or released is Trent Grisham. He barely plays as it is.

He's never done it as a professional, but I wonder if Alex Verdugo can learn to play first base. I know many want to see Aaron Judge there, but I don't. I think that's an injury waiting to happen. I can see Verdugo figuring it out quickly. There is no role on the 2025 Yankees for Verdugo if Jasson Dominguez is ready to be a productive big leaguer. First base might just be an option as a way to keep him around in 2025 (and beyond). He's also be a nice fourth outfielder and pinch hitter. Crazier things have happened.

Anthony Volpe made two sparkling plays at shortstop. He continues to impress in all aspects of his game.

Next Up - The Yankees begin what should be a HUGE series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Tonight Cody Poteet will face off against Yoshinobu Yamamoto. What a game that should be - the first chance so many have to see the pitcher, Yamamoto, that might have been a Yankee.

UPDATE - It seems that the game will be broadcast on YES tonight. YES lists it there. ESPN lists the game as Apple-+. Yankees.com says it will be on YES.

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