Yankees eliminate Twins behind homers from Didi Gregorius, Brett Gardner, Aaron Judge
Joe Girardi wasn’t focused on past failures.
“I don’t look at it like we haven’t won a playoff game since 2012, I look at it as we want to move on, that’s what’s important,” Girardi said in his office late Tuesday afternoon. “That’s what these guys have worked so hard for.”
The work paid off.
Shrugging off a train wreck of a start by ace Luis Severino, who lasted one-third of an inning, the Yankees, behind key home runs by Didi Gregorius, Brett Gardner and — who else? — Aaron Judge, downed the Twins, 8-4, Tuesday night in the American League wild-card game in front of a noisy sellout crowd of 49,280 at the Stadium.
The Yankees’ first playoff win since Game 5 of the 2012 ALDS against the Orioles sends the Bombers into the Division Series against the defending AL champion Indians, who have home field through the AL playoffs after going 102-60. Game 1 is Thursday night at Cleveland’s Progressive Field.
“It’s important,” Gardner said. “Listen, coming into this game we’re well aware from two years ago [a wild-card loss to Houston] anything can happen in a one-game setting. We’re just excited to get past this and excited to go to Cleveland and excited about the opportunity.”
Just about all of the elements that should make the Yankees a tough matchup for the Indians were on display.
After Severino’s disaster — the 23-year-old allowed three runs and four hits, including two homers — a bullpen general manager Brian Cashman felt was built for October slammed the door on the Twins, who continued to be a personal punching bag for the Yankees (who are 90-33 against the Twins since 2002).
Starting with Chad Green, who worked out of a second-and-third, one-out jam in the first, the bullpen combined to allow one run in the remaining 8 2⁄3 innings. David Robertson starred, striking out five in a career-high 3 1⁄3 innings, and Tommy Kahnle struck out one in 2 1⁄3 perfect innings. Aroldis Chapman allowed a single but struck out three in the ninth.
“They put on display what they can do,” said Greg Bird, whose two-out, RBI single in the third gave the Yankees a 5-4 lead. “We know if we get a lead, we’ve got a good chance.”
Many in the dugout felt Green’s escape set the stage for the rest of the night.
“The momentum was going for them,” Judge said. “Shutting them down there was huge for us. And then we just let our offense work.”
It did just that, and quickly. The Yankees flexed their muscle at the plate, driving Ervin Santana from the game after two innings. Gregorius’ three-run homer in the bottom of the first tied it at 3 and Gardner’s solo blast off Santana into the second deck in the second made it 4-3.
Judge’s laser to left, a two-run shot off Jose Berrios in the fourth, gave the Yankees a 7-4 lead and had the crowd serenading the rookie with “MVP!” chants not for the first or last time on the night. The 25-year-old, in his first playoff game, looked like his regular-season self, going 2-for-4 with a walk.
It seemed like all of the Baby Bombers, Severino a notable exception, were comfortable in the postseason. Gary Sanchez went 2-for-4 with a double.
“It’s impressive,” the 34-year-old Gardner said of his younger teammates. “These guys proved that the situation’s not too big for them. They’re calm, cool and collected.”
With the crowd on its feet at the start, Severino delivered a first-pitch strike, which came in at 100 mph, to Brian Dozier, but his night quickly deteriorated. Dozier, who hit 34 homers this season, jumped on a 3-and-1 fastball and sent it to left-center, the solo homer making it 1-0 and sucking some of the air from the crowd. It grew even quieter when Jorge Polanco walked with one out and Eddie Rosario homered to right to make it 3-0.
But after Green’s high-wire act and the bottom of the first rally, the crowd was in it to stay, the remaining innings taking on an air of inevitability. The Yankees, after a five-year hiatus, would be moving on to the ALDS.
“The crowd tonight was unbelievable,” Girardi said. “They were in the bleachers, jumping up and down. I almost felt like — and this is a good thing — that I was at a college football game again. It’s as loud as I’ve heard it in a long time.”
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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