Sanchez, bullpen lift Yankees in win over Twins
NEW YORK -- Just as the Yankees were settling back in the comfortable confines of home, they lost yet another player due to injury. Losing James Paxton to a knee injury after just three innings, New York relied on their bullpen to carry them to a vital 6-3 victory, as they open a long home stand.
Jonathan Holder set the tone with two scoreless frames and was also credited with the win. Adam Ottavino and Tommy Kahnle also pitched clean innings, while Aroldis Chapman shut down the Twins in the ninth for his sixth save of 2019.
Zack Britton was the lone reliever to give up a run, as Nelson Cruz took him deep for a two-run shot in the eighth inning. The left-hander's ERA now stands at 4.15.
On the offensive side, Gary Sanchez was the man of the hour, as he recorded three hits, two of which were solo home runs. Both were also crushed and were long out of the ball park.
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Gleyber Torres set the tone early with a run-scoring hit in the first inning off of starter Kyle Gibson. Luke Voit then added a RBI-hit in the second to make it 2-0, but was throw out trying to stretch his hit into a double.
With this, Voit extended his on-base streak to 41 games in a row as also walked to go with his hit.
While the Yankees and Twins exchanged runs in the third and fourth, Sanchez's homers in the fifth and seventh innings were more than enough breathing room for the bullpen to take home the victory.
Now, Aaron Boone and Yankee fans everywhere anxiously await the final diagnosis of Paxton's MRI on Saturday. While it has been deemed left knee soreness, nothing is certain till the MRI.
On a good note, Miguel Andujar could see action tomorrow, or on Sunday's series finale.
The three game set continues tomorrow at 1:05, with J.A. Happ facing Jake Odorizzi.
Current Yankees Record: 18-13