On Monday night, the Yankees were feeling positive.
At Yankee Stadium, the Bombers defeated the scorching Minnesota Twins 6-2 in the first game of a three-game series, hitting four home runs behind yet another outstanding pitching effort from Will Warren.
Warren struck out seven batters in 6.2 innings of work despite giving up two runs on three hits and two solo home runs. The right-hander was the first pitcher to finish six innings since he did so against the Texas Rangers on July 30, giving the Yanks much-needed length.
Even the 26-year-old’s speed increased, peaking at 97.1 mph and sitting 94.1 1.1 mph above his season average. Warren’s ERA for the season is now 4.34.
In four consecutive starts, Warren has pitched at least five innings while giving up two runs or fewer. He pitched 7.1 innings against the A’s on May 9th, which was his second-longest appearance of the season.
The Yankees are observing that one of their veterans still has a lot of energy left. After Cody Bellinger’s single drive to deep right-center field in the first inning put the team ahead 1-0, Monday’s right-fielder, Giancarlo Stanton, hit his 11th home run of the season in the third inning. Stanton’s season slash line is impressive at.281/.362/.548; he was 2-for-5 that evening.
Additionally, the 35-year-old played a clean right field, completing all the standard plays at him. In the first inning, he even displayed some speed by taking an extra base after Byron Buxton made a mistake.
With Aaron Judge (elbow) limited to DH duties, Stanton, who has been quite effective for the Yanks since his return, can anticipate playing more right field to maintain his bat in the order.
In the third inning, Ben Rice went back-to-back after Stanton’s homer with a solo bomb of his own. Because of Austin Wells’ struggles and the need for his bat in the lineup, catcher Rice has gotten more time behind the plate.
Rice is slashing, one of baseball’s hardest hitters.235/.326/.463 with 38 RBI and 17 home runs thus far this season.
Warren let up a solo attempt to Trevor Larnach in the bottom of the seventh, reducing the margin to 3-2, and the Yanks added some insurance. After leading the inning with a double down the right-field line, Ryan McMahon scored on a Trent Grisham RBI single. Judge increased the lead to 5-2 with an RBI single.
The club had a 10-hit night, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. delivered the exclamation point with a solo blast in the eighth.
After taking Warren’s place in the seventh, Luke Weaver tossed 1.1 shutout innings before passing the ball to David Bednar to end the game. Bednar secured the victory by putting the Twins on the defensive.
To win the series, Aaron Boone will look to Carlos Rodon on Tuesday. The Twins have not yet revealed their starting lineup.
