Box Score
SP: Taj Bradley 4 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 4 K (89 pitches, 54 strikes (61%))
Home Runs: None
Bottom 3 WPA: Bradley (-.481), Trevor Larnach (-.224), Edouard Julien (-.120)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)
Taj Bradley is no stranger to the Yankees. He’s spent the bulk of his career in the AL East. Still, the Bronx Bombers are always a slightly intimidating opponent. Bradley took the mound in Wednesday’s rubber match, hoping to help the Twins claim an unlikely series victory—but it quickly became clear that it wouldn’t be that kind of night. In the top of the first, with Aaron Judge on first base, Cody Bellinger stroked a double to left field. Austin Martin fielded the ball and threw it home to catcher Jhonny Pereda, but Pereda missed it and Judge scored. Â
In the first inning, there was no production at the plate for the Twins, but there were certainly things to talk about. Byron Buxton got his 500th plate appearance in a season for the second time in his career, and Martin got a hit for his sixth game in a row. The Twins’ lineup has looked livelier of late, to be sure.
The home side’s bats came alive in the second inning. A leadoff walk by Matt Wallner turned into an extra base when Luis Gil’s pickoff attempt sailed wide, moving Wallner to second. Brooks Lee followed with a single to push him to third, and Royce Lewis delivered another single to bring Wallner home and tie the game, 1-1.
Edouard Julien then hit into a force out, with Lewis cut down at second. But the Twins weren’t done. Lee scored on a two-out wild pitch from Gil, giving Minnesota a 2-1 lead before a Pereda strikeout ended the inning.
The Yankees, alas, responded quickly. In the top of the third, Trent Grisham jumped on a splitter from Bradley and drove it well out of the park to even things again. Bradley’s bigger battle, however, wasn’t with the hitters—it was with home plate umpire John Libka, whose strike zone seemed to shrink at just the wrong moments. Even so, Bradley managed to escape trouble, when Bellinger flied out to Martin on a great, far-ranging play near the left-field line.
Bradley ran into trouble again in the fourth inning, giving up a string of runs to the Yankees. Back-to-back doubles from Paul Goldschmidt and Jasson Dominguez put New York back on top, 3-2, with just one out. In an ill-timed lapse, Bradley walked José Caballero, bringing up Grisham for a third at-bat in the game and with two runners on.
Grisham won the battle, launching his second home run of the night—a three-run shot that cleared the bases and left Bradley reeling. Two more Yankees reached base, and the Twins bullpen began stirring as Bradley continued to falter. He then balked during Bellinger’s at-bat, allowing another run to score. Bradley finally escaped by striking out Bellinger, but the damage was done. The Yankees led 7-2.
Travis Adams took over for Bradley in the fifth and delivered exactly what the Twins needed—a clean inning, keeping the deficit in check and giving the offense a chance to climb back.
In the bottom half, Buxton and Trevor Larnach reached base. Luke Keaschall stepped to the plate with two outs. The Twins have thrived on two-out rallies lately, and Keaschall came through again, singling to center and trimming the Yankees’ lead to 7-3 as Buxton raced home.
The Twins brought in right fielder James Outman to replace Matt Wallner in the lineup (due, we later learned, to back spams for Wallner). Outman drew a walk to load the bases. On the very next pitch, Brooks Lee lined a sharp single, scoring both Larnach and Keaschall to bring the Twins within two, 7–5. That knock forced the Yankees to turn to their bullpen.
Pierson Ohl took the mound in the sixth and worked a clean inning to keep the Twins within striking distance. The Twins went down scoreless in the bottom half, sending the game to the seventh with New York still ahead 7–5.
Kody Funderburk entered in the seventh and continued his strong September, tossing another clean frame to hold the deficit at two. For the month, Funderburk has allowed just four hits and two runs, posting a 3.00 ERA.
Cole Sands took over in the eighth to face the bottom of the Yankees order. Unfortunately, he plunked Dominguez, who then stole second and scored on a single by Ryan McMahon.
In the bottom half, Brooks Lee led off with a single, marking the second straight inning the Twins put the leadoff man aboard. This time, they faced reliever Luke Weaver, who had been roughed up by the Twins earlier in the series. Weaver got lucky after Lee, though, as the next two batters’ hits lost steam at the warning track. He struck out Kody Clemens to avert trouble.Â
Génesis Cabrera gave up a two-run homer to Bellinger in the top of the ninth, widening New York’s lead. The Twins had no further answer.
What’s Next?Â
The Twins have a day off before facing the Guardians over the weekend; their visitors are engaged in a last-second and somewhat desperate (but not hopeless) push for the playoffs. Pablo López (5-4; 2.64 ERA) will be back on the mound, opposite Parker Messick (3-0; 1.84 ERA) at 7:10 PM CST. Â
Postgame Interviews
Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet