Sports

Yankees Break Out of Offensive Funk in Win Over Twins


MINNEAPOLIS — Gary Sanchez and Miguel Andujar homered, D.J. LeMahieu had two hits and an R.B.I., as the Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins, 8-4, Tuesday night to end a four-game skid.

Aaron Judge drove in two runs for the Yankees, who had lost eight of its previous 10 and won despite going 2 for 15 with runners in scoring position and stranding 11.

“We haven’t been hitting homers as much as we normally do or putting up crooked numbers as much as we do,” Yankees Manager Aaron Boone said. “Sometimes it takes little things in a game to win a ballgame. Tonight’s that kind of game where everyone kind of contributed in different ways.”

Jonathan Loaisiga (5-2) pitched one and a third perfect innings in relief of Yankees starter Jordan Montgomery.

Taylor Rogers (2-3) allowed two runs on three hits in the eighth for Minnesota.

“It’s not like they were hitting the ball around the ballpark,” Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli said. “As we’ve talked about, sometimes it really doesn’t come down to that. It comes down to trying to have a good at-bat, use the whole field, things we talk about a lot. We saw it happen against us out there tonight.”

The 95-degree temperature at first pitch was the second-hottest for a game at Target Field, only eclipsed by a 97-degree start on July 16, 2012.

The Yankees took advantage of several Minnesota mistakes.

Tyler Wade scored the go-ahead run on LeMahieu’s fielder’s choice in the eighth as second baseman Jorge Polanco’s throw was wide of the plate for an error. The Twins committed four errors in the game.

“Playing fundamental baseball is something we’re going to have to do in order to stay in ballgames, win ballgames,” Baldelli said. “Teams that play good baseball, they win games, ultimately. But I’m not concerned about the particular plays we saw today mainly because of why. We were trying to stay in the ballgame.”

Judge was walked with the bases loaded in the fifth and another run scored on a wild pitch. Judge earned another R.B.I. as he beat a throw on an attempted double play and an error was charged to shortstop Andrelton Simmons after a review showed he didn’t touch the base on the turn.

“With the off-day yesterday and then obviously coming on the road, just trying to almost turn things over and start over anew with the game today,” said Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner, who had a sacrifice fly for an R.B.I. and a sacrifice bunt. “It definitely can do that and build some momentum. Hopefully, we look back and tonight was the start of something special.”

BALTIMORE — Pat Valaika described his late father-in-law as one of his biggest fans — someone who would remind him how great it can be to be a major league baseball player.

“He always told me I’m living the dream,” Valaika said. “Sometimes I take it for granted, but he was definitely with me tonight.”

In his first game back from the bereavement list following the death of his father-in-law, Valaika doubled twice and the Baltimore Orioles rolled to another high-scoring victory, 10-3 over the Mets on Tuesday night.

“He loved watching me play more than anything — he really lived for it,” Valaika said. “I knew coming back that all he would want me to do was to play.”

Maikel Franco became the sixth player to hit a home run into the second deck at Camden Yards, and Anthony Santander also homered for the Orioles, who have won five of six after a 14-game losing streak. Baltimore also hit seven doubles in the game, including two each by Valaika and Cedric Mullins.

Bruce Zimmermann (4-3) allowed a two-run homer in the first inning to Pete Alonso, but the Mets managed only one more hit off him in five innings. David Peterson (1-5) yielded four runs and eight hits in two and two-thirds innings.

Baltimore outhit the Mets by 16-4 after scoring 18 runs with 21 hits in Sunday’s victory over Cleveland.

“I thought tonight we took really good at-bats,” Orioles Manager Brandon Hyde said. “Once again, up and down the order, a lot of production from the bottom half of the order.”

Alonso added a second homer in the ninth, making him the first Mets player with a multi-homer game this season.

Valaika tied the game at 2-2 with a two-run double in the second, then scored on a double by Mullins. Valaika doubled home another run in the third.

Mullins led off with a double in the fourth — at that point, he had 11 hits in his last 13 at-bats — and scored on a single by Trey Mancini.

Mets Manager Luis Rojas said the plan is still for the struggling Peterson to make his next scheduled start.

“We need to get him right,” Rojas said. “We need David Peterson.”

Franco broke the game open with a three-run homer in the fifth that went down the line in left field and into the second deck. He was the first player to hit a home run into that level since Alonso last September. Mark Reynolds in 2011 and Manny Machado in 2017 were the only Baltimore hitters to do it previously.

Santander hit a solo homer in the eighth.



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