Kyle Higashioka has homer, three RBIs as Yankees top Twins
Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka is greeted in the dugout after his two-run home run against the Twins during the fourth inning of an MLB game at Yankee Stadium on Thursday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
It wasn’t one of those white-knucklers so much a part of the Yankees’ schedule of late, but it wasn't all that easy, either.
After series against the White Sox and Red Sox in which each of the six games seemingly was a down-to-the-last-pitch affair, the Twins arrived for a four-game series that on the surface appeared as if it would be easy.
The Yankees, who have had their way with good Twins teams and bad over the last two decades, kept that up against a decidedly bad Minnesota outfit Thursday night, though they had to sweat it out a bit in a 7-5 victory in front of 30,019 at the Stadium.
The Yankees (70-52), who have won a season-best seven straight games — and 17 of their last 21 — improved to 106-38 against the Twins since 2002, including the postseason.
With their 29th victory in the last 40 games, the Yankees remained a game ahead of the A's in the battle for the first wild card and moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the idle Red Sox.
"They’re playing with a lot of confidence," manager Aaron Boone said. "And I think everyone shows up with the mindset of this is about we, this is about us, this is about getting a win. They know what they’re capable of and I feel like their purpose and their focus and their energy is all poured into winning. I do feel like they’re playing with a lot of confidence that we expect to do something special."
Going with DH Luke Voit at leadoff and an outfield alignment of Joey Gallo in left, Aaron Judge in center and Giancarlo Stanton in right, the Yankees took a 6-0 lead after four innings but still needed some key late-inning work by the bullpen to seal it.
Zack Britton allowed a run in the eighth to make it 6-4. Stanton lined a bullet over the rightfield wall for his 20th homer in the bottom of the inning to give the Yankees a 7-4 lead, but Chad Green allowed a one-out homer by Miguel Sano in the ninth to make it 7-5. He struck out the next two Twins to record his sixth save in 10 chances.
Andrew Velazquez’s triple, Kyle Higashioka’s RBI double and Voit’s two-run double highlighted a four-run third as the Yankees looked to make it a rare blowout.
The Bronx-born Velazquez, a former Fordham Prep standout, singled and scored in the fourth on Higashioka’s two-run homer that made it 6-0.
"We just come to the field and we expect to win right now," Velazquez said. "When we see the lineup and see the opponent, we expect to win."
A diving catch by leftfielder Jake Cave robbed Stanton of a two-run single that would have given the Yankees an 8-0 lead in the fifth, but Jameson Taillon appeared to have all the runs he needed as he coasted into the sixth with a six-run lead.
Taillon retired his 14th straight batter when Ryan Jeffers popped out to the mound. The pitcher, who seemed to land awkwardly while making the catch but said afterward he was fine, allowed an opposite-field homer by the next batter, former Yankee Cave, that made it 6-1. A single by Andrelton Simmons, a double by Max Kepler and a two-run double by Jorge Polanco followed, and the Yankees' lead was down to 6-3.
Wandy Peralta relieved Taillon and retired five straight batters, running his scoreless-innings streak to 10 1/3 since coming off the COVID-19 injured list Aug. 5.
Taillon (8-4) allowed five hits and no walks in 5 1/3 innings in which he struck out five. The righthander, who had a 2.25 ERA in his previous 10 starts, is unbeaten in 14 starts since May 31, going 7-0 in that span.
Twins righty John Gant (4-7), making his first career appearance against the Yankees, allowed four runs, three hits and one walk in 3 1/3 innings.
The night all-around was a good one from the Yankees’ perspective, including solid defense from the infield and Higashioka throwing out Polanco attempting to steal second in the first inning to short-circuit a potential Twins rally.
"I feel like it's been a lot of different things," Taillon said of the Yankees’ recent success. "And I think that's a sign of a good team is when you can win in a bunch of different ways."
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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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