Make it 15 straight playoff losses for the Twins as they were rocked to bed by the Yankees Saturday night in a 8-2 defeat.
New York got one run off Randy Dobnak in the first inning, then lit up the scoreboard with a seven-run third inning that was highlighted by a majestic grand slam off the bat of Didi Gregorius.
Tyler Duffey, pitching for a second consecutive day, served up the slam after relieving Dobnak, who was shelled.
- Dobnak: 2 innings, 6 hits, 2 walks, 4 runs
- Duffey: 0.2 innings, 2 hits, 1 walk, 4 runs
Devin Smeltzer pitched 3.1 scoreless innings of relief to help stop the bleeding, but it was far too late as Minnesota’s bats struggled against Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka, who struck out seven while giving up just one run on three hits and a walk in five innings.
The Twins got on the board when Mitch Garver beat a shift and bled a weak grounder into right field to drive in Nelson Cruz in the fourth inning. They added a run in the ninth on an RBI double from Luis Arraez.
Trailing two games to none, the Twins need to win the next three in the best-of-five series or their season will end. Game 3 is set for Monday at 7:40 p.m. at Target Field. If the Twins can force a Game 4, it’ll start at 7:07 p.m. Tuesday in Minneapolis.
