The Twins bested the Yankees 8-6 to kick off their three-game series with the New York Yankees on Monday.
It was a bizarre game that featured multiple home runs, twists and turns but most importantly a Twins win.
It was quite the eventful start as the Twins turned a 5-4-3 triple play in the top of the first inning.
Minnesota would then follow up with with back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the first from Jorge Polanco and Nelson Cruz.
After the Yankees tied things up in the third, things continued to get weirder as the Twins scored three runs in the bottom half despite ever recording a single hit.
With the bases loaded, Nelson Cruz would technically get an RBI when Gary Sanchez was called for catcher’s inference. Then Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano each bounced into a fielder choice, scoring runs respectively. So three runs came across despite no one collecting a hit.
Both teams continued to trade blows with Luke Voit hitting a home run in the top of the fourth but Max Kepler and Mitch Garver each put one into the seats in the bottom half to make it a four-run game.
Savages in the box.@Twins | #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/8C2WKodapo
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) July 23, 2019
So obviously in the top of the fifth, DJ LaMahieu hit a two-run home run to cut the Twins lead to 7-5. After Martin Perez walked Aaron Judge, Perez would then be pulled for Tyler Duffey.
After the Twins went scoreless in the bottom half, New York crawled within one run in the the sixth but Garver got it back with his second homer of the night. It’s the third time this season Garver had a multi-home run game.
It was also the eighth time this season the Twins hit five or more home runs in a single game, which is the most in majors this season. The 1977 Red Sox are the only other team to have ever done that in a season.
Recently recalled Lewis Thorpe and Ryne Harper preserved Minnesota lead, with Taylor Rogers picking up the save in the ninth.
So to recap, tonight’s game featured:
- A triple play.
- Eight home runs.
- Seven of them solo shots
- Two by Garver
- A catcher’s interference.
- Three runs scored despite a single hit.
With the win, the Twins improve to 61-38 on the season and return to action on Tuesday for game two of their series with the Yankees. Kyle Gibson starts on the hill for Minnesota, with Domingo German starting for New York.
