Game 96 / 54-42 / 1st / +5.5G : Down 5-0 by the third. CC struggling big time. Last night’s 10-1 beatdown still with you like a bad hangover. Recent momentum gone, and visions of a 2-7 road trip in your head … then the magic began. A trickle at first, a little more, then boom! — the Yankees came off the mat to turn a 5 run deficit into a stunning 8-5 victory.
Alex Rodriguez hits a solo homer in the 4th. Adam Warren bails Sabathia out of bases loaded jam in the 6th. A-Rod homers again in the 7th. A-Rod homers again in the 9th. John Ryan Murphy blasts 3-run homer in the 9th for the dagger.
Here’s the box score, full recap, and video highlights.
Yankees 8, Twins 5
“Maybe our best win of the year” ‐ Joe Girardi
- Alexander Emanuel Rodriguez Two days short of his 40th birthday, A-Rod put on a show for the ages. Three no-doubter home runs that single-handedly brought the Yankees all the way from a 5-0 deficit, his 3-run shot in the top of the 9th tying the game.
- John Ryan Murphy What a time to send one flyin’! All Murphy needed to do was lift a fly ball deep enough to score Carlos Beltran from third with one out to knot the game at 5. He lifted one alright — into the cheap seats in right-center for a three-run blast that made it 8-5, turning the game over to New York’s reliable bullpen. It was Murphy’s first home run of the season, and could not have come at a better time, stunning the Target Field faithful if they weren’t already.
- Adam Parrish Warren Almost overlooked in the firepower dramatics from A-Rod and Murphy, Adam Warren was as much a key to this incredible victory as the offense.Taking over for CC with the bases loaded and down 5-1 in the 6th, the game was about to get totally out of hand. Warren struck out XXXX to end the threat, and went on to 2.1 innings of scoreless work while A-Rod did his thing.
MEMORY LANE : On today’s date in 1961, Roger Maris hit four home runs, tying the American League record for a doubleheader (at least one in each game), as New York defeated the Chicago White Sox, 5-1, and 12-0. Mickey Mantle also homers off Frank Baumann in the first game. He ends the day with thirty-eight home runs to forty for Maris … In 1998 ironman Jesse Orosco pitched in his 1,000th career game while with the Baltimore Orioles. In his 24 year MLB career, Orosco had a cup of coffee with the Yankees during the 2003 season, appearing in 15 games before being released … (h/t: Today in Baseball History)
FOOTNOTES : The Yankees turn to Nathan Eovaldi tomorrow afternoon looking for another series win, their 5th straight …