Despite many opportunities to steal one from New York, the Twins fell to the Yankees 5-2 on Tuesday evening.
Minnesota loaded the bases with nobody out in the top of the first inning, but only managed one run. New York tied it up shortly after, but Max Kepler’s second-inning home run put the Twins back in front.
It was Kepler’s first home run off a left-handed pitcher this season.
Twins starting pitcher Jose Berrios couldn’t hold the lead, and he was pulled from the game after just 3.1 innings, throwing 91 pitches for 52 strikes.
New York tallied two runs in the fourth with insurance runs in the fifth and sixth and never looked back.
With the loss, the Twins are six games behind in the Yankees for the top American League Wild Card spot.
At least the Angels keep losing
The Los Angeles Angels dropped one to the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday and Minnesota is still holding down the second spot in the Wild Card race by 1.5 games.
According to Baseball Prospectus, the Twins’ playoff chances actually went up to 67 percent, while the Angels have just a 23 percent chance to make the postseason.
The Twins close out their series with New York on Wednesday afternoon, against Yankees ace Luis Severino. Bartolo Colon will start for Minnesota, and first pitch is at noon.
