The New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins 8-4 in the AL Wild Card Game on October 3, 2017, at Yankee Stadium. Luis Severino got one out and the Twins led 3-0, but Didi Gregorius tied it with a three-run homer in the bottom of the first, Aaron Judge homered, and the bullpen threw 8 2/3 innings.
Twenty-nine pitches. That's all it took for the ace to become a spectator.
The Ace Who Wasn't
Going into that night, Severino was the easy call. He was 23, he'd just had the kind of season that gets you Cy Young votes, and the 2017 Yankees had 91 wins and home field for a one-game playoff against an 85-77 Minnesota team. (The Twins had lost 103 games the year before. Nobody had ever gone from 100 losses to the postseason in one year until they did it.)
Brian Dozier, the first hitter of the night, hit a 3-1 fastball out to left.
Joe Mauer fouled out. Then Jorge Polanco walked, and Eddie Rosario lined a two-run homer to right. Eduardo Escobar singled, Max Kepler hit one to right and ended up on second, and Joe Girardi was already on his way out of the dugout.
One-third of an inning. Four hits, three runs, a walk. Severino tied the shortest start in Yankees postseason history, matching Bob Turley in 1958 and Art Ditmar in 1960, and he did it in his first playoff start. I remember thinking we were about to relive 2015, when the Astros shut the Yankees out in this same game.
Green Stops the Bleeding
Chad Green came in with runners on second and third and one out. He struck out Byron Buxton. He struck out Jason Castro. In the second, he struck out Robbie Grossman and Dozier, too. Four straight, in a freakin' elimination game.
That's the part people forget. Didi gets the highlight, but if Green gives up a single there, it's 5-0 and nobody's hitting a game-tying homer.
Didi Ties It
Ervin Santana didn't have it either. Brett Gardner walked, Aaron Judge fought off a 3-2 pitch for a single to center, and two batters later Didi Gregorius took a full-count pitch into the right-field seats.
3-3. The first inning took 45 minutes. (It felt longer. I aged.)
Gardner homered off Santana in the second, and that was the end of Santana's night after two innings. In the third, Green loaded the bases with one out, and David Robertson got Buxton to hit a double-play grounder to short. Buxton beat the relay (of course he did), Polanco scored, and it was tied again, 4-4.
That tie didn't last. Gary Sanchez doubled off Jose Berrios, and Greg Bird singled him home with two outs. 5-4, and the Yankees never trailed again.
In the fourth, Judge turned on a Berrios pitch for a two-run homer, his first October swing that left the yard, and he let himself celebrate in a way he hadn't all season. 7-4. Aaron Hicks drew a two-out, bases-loaded walk in the seventh to make it 8-4.
Four Relievers, 26 Outs
Here's what actually won the game. Robertson threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings and 52 pitches, both career highs, and struck out five. Tommy Kahnle retired all seven Twins he faced. Aroldis Chapman struck out three in the ninth.
Add it up: 8 2/3 innings, one run, five hits, 13 strikeouts. That tied the record for strikeouts by a bullpen in a postseason game.
Our bullpen was remarkable tonight.
He wasn't exaggerating. Robertson and Kahnle had only shown up in a July trade with the White Sox, and on the night it mattered most, the pen got 26 of the 27 outs.
What Came Next
It was the Yankees' first postseason win since 2012. They took that bullpen to Cleveland and came back from 0-2 against a 102-win team, with Didi homering twice off Corey Kluber in Game 5. Then they got within one win of the World Series in an ALCS against Houston that we now know wasn't exactly on the level.
For Judge, the Wild Card homer came right before a 1-for-20 ALDS, which is a weird way to follow up a 52-homer rookie year.
For 29 pitches, the Twins looked like the better team. The bullpen got the other 26 outs, and the Yankees got a flight to Cleveland.
| Final Score | Yankees 8, Twins 4 |
| Date / Site | Oct. 3, 2017, Yankee Stadium |
| Attendance | 49,280 |
| Severino | 1/3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB (29 pitches) |
| Chad Green | 2 IP, 1 R, 4 K |
| David Robertson (W) | 3 1/3 IP, 0 R, 5 K |
| Tommy Kahnle | 2 1/3 IP, 7 up, 7 down |
| Aroldis Chapman | 1 IP, 3 K |
| Yankees Bullpen | 8 2/3 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 13 K |
| Yankees Home Runs | Gregorius (3-run), Gardner, Judge (2-run) |
Twins Jump Severino
Brian Dozier leads off with a homer and Eddie Rosario hits a two-run shot. Severino records one out before Chad Green strikes out Buxton and Castro. Twins 3, Yankees 0.
Didi Answers
Gardner walks, Judge singles, and Didi Gregorius hits a full-count, three-run homer off Ervin Santana. 3-3.
Gardner Goes Deep
Brett Gardner's solo homer off Santana gives the Yankees a 4-3 lead.
Tied, Then Ahead for Good
Polanco scores on Buxton's fielder's choice to tie it 4-4. In the bottom half, Gary Sanchez doubles off Jose Berrios and Greg Bird singles him home. 5-4.
Judge's First Playoff Homer
Aaron Judge hits a two-run homer off Berrios. 7-4.
The Pen Slams the Door
Robertson, Kahnle, and Chapman keep the Twins scoreless the rest of the way. Hicks walks with the bases loaded in the seventh, and the Yankees win 8-4.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the 2017 AL Wild Card Game?
The Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins 8-4 on October 3, 2017, at Yankee Stadium, then advanced to face Cleveland in the ALDS.
What happened to Luis Severino in the 2017 Wild Card Game?
Severino recorded one out and allowed three runs on four hits and a walk in 29 pitches before Joe Girardi pulled him in the first inning. Brian Dozier and Eddie Rosario both homered off him. It tied the shortest start in Yankees postseason history.
Who hit home runs for the Yankees in the 2017 Wild Card Game?
Didi Gregorius hit a game-tying three-run homer in the first inning, Brett Gardner hit a solo homer in the second, and Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer in the fourth.
How many strikeouts did the Yankees bullpen have in the 2017 Wild Card Game?
Thirteen. Chad Green, David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle and Aroldis Chapman combined for 8 2/3 innings, one run and 13 strikeouts, which tied the record for a bullpen in a postseason game. Robertson got the win.