Aaron Hicks' diving catch in 10th inning seals Yankees' win over Twins in wild slugfest

MINNEAPOLIS — For one night, the Yankees offense, and the catch of a lifetime by Aaron Hicks, shoved concerns about their shaky rotation to the back-burner.

But just for one night.

Didi Gregorius, after unhappily being given Monday off, had an electric return to the lineup Tuesday. The shortstop went 5-for-5 with seven RBIs and a run, with the latter the difference in a dramatic 14-12 victory over the Twins in 10 innings at Target Field.

Hicks, whose bat played a major role in the win, made a game-saving, diving catch in the gap in left-center with the bases loaded on Max Kepler’s drive off Chad Green to end the 5 hour, 3 minute marathon.

“What an amazing play to end an amazing game,” a drained Aaron Boone said afterward.

His club’s wildest win of the season to date included 20 hits by the Yankees, a see-saw of big hits and home runs by each team late, a blown save by Aroldis Chapman and a somewhat surprising one by Green in the 10th after Adam Ottavino couldn’t find the strike zone. The teams combined to throw 432 pitches; 218 by the Yankees and 214 by the Twins.

The Yankees (65-35), now 10 games up on the Red Sox and Rays in the AL East, might have lost the horribly slumping Gary Sanchez, in a 7-for-68 skid, to injury after the catcher hurt his left groin trying to leg out a double-play grounder that ended the seventh. Boone indicated it could be an injured list situation, though the Yankees will await the results of the MRI scheduled for Wednesday.

Ottavino walked back-to-back batters with one out in the 10th, got a forceout, then walked another batter to load the bases. In came Green to face Kepler, who hit a liner toward the gap that off the bat had bases-clearing game-winner written all over it. As Hicks made the catch, Green, who earned his second big-league save and first since 2016, thrust his arms skyward.

“He made one of the best catches I’ve ever seen,” Green said.
Said Hicks: “I just got a great jump . . . . I just had a hunch and was able to get a good read.”

Hicks knew exactly how important a catch, or non-catch, would be.

“That was a do-or-die play,” Hicks said. “That was a play that needed to be made.”

Viewing in right, Aaron Judge was confident it would be.

“Right off the bat, I knew he was going to catch it,” said Judge, who had three hits and two RBIs. “I’ve played around him a couple years now and I know what balls he can get to and not. I knew right off the bat he was going to make that play. Very few centerfielders and very few outfielders in the game that can make that play. Impressive.”

Besides his contributions in the 10th, Gregorius homered and ripped a two-out, two-run double in the eighth that helped complete a rally from six runs down mid-game.

Gregorius singled with one out in the 10th and Romine, who came in for Sanchez, also singled. Gleyber Torres’ RBI single made it 13-12 and Romine scored the final run on a wild pitch.

And there was still so much more than the theater of the ninth and 10th innings.

Zack Britton could not hold onto the lead provided by Gregorius’ double as he allowed a massive two-run homer to Miguel Sano in the eighth that put the Twins in front at 11-10. Hicks, however, hit a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth off Taylor Rogers to put the Yankees ahead 12-11, stunning much of the crowd of 32,470.

But Chapman came on for the bottom half and had virtually no command, walking Ehire Adrianza, pinch hitter Mitch Garver and Kepler to load the bases. Jorge Polanco’s sacrifice fly tied it at 12, though Chapman did well to end things there.

The Yankees stormed back from an 8-2 deficit after four innings.

Gregorius crushed a three-run homer in the fifth to make it 8-5 and, after the Twins (62-39), who totaled 15 hits, tacked one on in the bottom half, the Yankees abused an awful Minnesota bullpen to take the lead.

Mike Tauchman, who preceded Hicks’ homer in the ninth with a critical two-out walk, improved to 13 for his last 23 with an RBI double in the eighth off Blake Parker to make it 9-6 and Judge just missed a game-tying homer, settling for a two-run double off the top of the wall in right-center to make it 9-8. In came righthander Tyler Duffy to face Edwin Encarnacion, who struck out but Luke Voit walked on a borderline pitch. In came righty Ryne Harper, who served up Gregorius’ two-run double. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, incensed by several close pitches he felt went against his team in the inning by plate umpire Ramon De Jesus, was ejected and hitting coach James Rowson, a former coach in the Yankees system, was tossed in the ninth.

Meanwhile, for a third straight game, the Yankees’ starting pitching was a train wreck, on this night it was Domingo German.

The righthander, 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA in three starts since coming off the injured list, could not continue that trend, allowing a season-high eight runs and nine hits, including three homers, in 3 2/3 innings.

The Twins, who came into the night on pace to hit a single-season record 306 home runs, which would break the record of 267 set by last year’s Yankees, hit four homers Tuesday after blasting five Monday night. Sano hit two of them, giving the Twins eight players with at least 15 homers this season.

“Two of best teams in the AL battling,” Judge said in describing the night overall. “That’s a postseason game right there. They’re going out there giving their best, we’re giving our best and it just came down to who wanted it more at the end. We battled and clawed and came out with the win. It’s fun. Every minute of it.”

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

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.