The bullpen for the Yankees was outstanding, a rough night for Cole, positive signs continue for Gallo and Hicks.
The Yankees once again showed their resiliency with a comeback win in Minnesota, beating the Twins 10-7 on Thursday.
Here are the takeaways…
Gerrit Cole just didn’t have it tonight. After the Yankees took an early 1-0 lead in the top half of the first inning, the Twins jumped on Cole and and feasted off his inability to locate any of his pitches. Leadoff hitter Luis Arraez belted a 2-2 changeup over the fence in right center to tie the game. From there, it resembled a batting practice session for the home team. Byron Buxton followed with a blast to left field off the first pitch he saw from Cole. The next batter, Carlos Correa, took Cole deep with a line drive homer to left, making it 3-1 Minnesota.
The Yankees responded in the top of the second when Joey Gallo hit a 2-run homer to right center off Twins’ starter Dylan Bundy, scoring Jose Trevino, to tie the game. While Gallo continues to work his way out of a season-long slump, it was Trevino’s 2-out single which kept the inning alive.
Cole, however, continued to struggle with his location. He served up two more home runs, a three-run blast by Buxton in the bottom of the second, and a solo shot by Trevor Larnach in the bottom of the third.
When former Yankee Gio Urshela reached base with a double, manager Aaron Boone saw enough to end Cole’s night.
In his previous six starts, Cole allowed six home runs. Tonight, he served up 5 long balls. Moreover, Cole became the first pitcher in Yankees history to allow 3 home runs to the first 3 batters of any game.
Cole owes the bullpen a steak dinner
With the Yankees trailing 7-3, and the Twins knocking Cole out early, this could’ve easily turned into a get out of town fast type of night. However, the bullpen stepped up and picked up Cole in a big way.
First, Boone turned to Lucas Luetge in the third inning as relief for Cole. He held the fort down for 2.1 innings pitched before handing the ball over to Miguel Castro. The former Met was followed by Wandy Peralta and Michael King — all posting zeroes on the scoreboard while the Yankees offense battled their way back into the game. Ultimately, with the Yankees pulling ahead for good, Clay Holmes closed the door on Minnesota for his ninth save.
Overall, the bullpen took the ball when their number was called and delivered 6.2 innings of one-hit, shutout-baseball. It was just what the doctor ordered on a night where the ace of the staff had a bad night at the office.
Two key components to the offensive attack for the Yankees were Joey Gallo and Aaron Hicks.
Gallo smacked two home runs, including a game-tying shot in the second inning. Hicks, with Gleyber Torres on base thanks to an infield blooper from the Twins, jumped all over a 2-2 slider in the sixth inning and launched it over the right field field for another game-tying homer.
Over his last seven games, Gallo is batting .320 (8-for-25) with 6R, 1 double, 3HR, 6RBI and 3BB.
Hicks, over his last seven games, is batting .409 (9-for-22) with 5R, 1RBI, 4BB and 1HP.
The struggles of Gallo and Hicks this season have been well-documented, their resurgence is right on time.
What’s Next
The Yankees begin a seven-day, six-game homestand, Friday night with the first game of a three-game set
vs. the Chicago Cubs. Luis Severino is next in the rotation to take the mound, while the Cubs will counter with left-hander Wade Miley.
Anthony Rushing is on Twitter @TonyRushingNY
Baseline Sports NY is on Twitter @Baseline_NY
