Historic night for Gregorius leads Yankees to fifth straight win

Yet another big day at the plate for Didi Gregorius led the Yankees to their fifth consecutive win on Wednesday night, as they defeated the Minnesota Twins 7-4. The Yankees shortstop also made history when he homered in the third inning. Gregorius became the first Yankees shortstop ever to hit a homerun in four consecutive games. The Bronx Bombers are now 14-9 on the season. 

Photo via New York Yankees

After falling behind by a couple of runs in the top of the first, the Yankees offense was quick to answer against Minnesota starter Lance Lynn, who signed a one-year deal with the Twins last offseason. Brett Gardner welcomed Lynn to the game with a leadoff single through the right side of the infield. Aaron Judge followed up the Gardner single with a knock of his own, this one through the left side of the infield, chasing Gardner all the way to third. 

With runners on the corners and no one out, Gregorius stepped up and wasted no time, roping a first-pitch offering from Lynn into right field. The single brought home Gardner and cut the Twins lead to 2-1. Lynn escaped the inning without further damage. 

Gregorius wasn’t done, though. In the third inning, the Yankees shortstop came up to the plate with two out and no one on. The lack of base runners did not stop Gregorius from producing another run, this time on a solo homer into the right field seats, tying the game at two apiece. The long ball was Gregorius’ ninth of the season. 

Photo via New York Yankees

With the game now tied, the Yankees continued to put on a two-out rally against Lynn in the third. A Giancarlo Stanton single and a Gary Sanchez walk put two men on for Tyler Austin. After having the night off on Tuesday, Austin showed absolutely no signs of fatigue as he drove a 2-2 offering from Lynn deep into the left field seats giving New York their first lead of the evening, 5-2.  The long ball continued Austin's career trend thus far, as nearly every one of his MLB HRs has either tied the game or given the Yankees the lead.

AUSTIN POWERS: Tyler Austin keeps making the most of those at-bats. pic.twitter.com/gAZ0oyqmtA

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 26, 2018

While the offense continued to click, Sonny Gray turned in another lackluster performance on Wednesday night. The right-hander was unable to earn a win despite his team’s offensive outburst, throwing 104 pitches in just 4.2 innings. 

Gray started off the ballgame on a sour note, giving up a two-run homer to the Twins third baseman, Miguel Sano, in the top of the first. After his offense spotted him a three-run lead, Gray got into more trouble in the fourth, loading the bases before escaping the inning, allowing just a single run on an RBI fielder’s choice from Robbie Grossman. 

Gray’s day was over after he loaded the bases again in the fifth. The second-year Yankee had a chance to get out of a runners-on-the-corners jam, but he walked Eduardo Escobar after getting ahead of the Twins shortstop 0-2. With that walk, Aaron Boone gave Gray the hook, giving the ball to Chad Green who got out of the jam with a Logan Morrison pop out. 

Green and his bullpen mates Chasen Shreve, David Robertson, and Aroldis Chapman closed out the win. The bullpen combined to throw 4.1 innings, allowing just one run while striking out five. 

Winning Pitcher: Chad Green (2-0, 2.25 ERA) 1.2 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 K 

Losing Pitcher: Lance Lynn (0-2, 7.71 ERA) 3.2 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 3 BB 

Save: Aroldis Chapman (4) 

Notable Players

Didi Gregorius – 3-for-3, HR (9), 2 RBI, R, BB

Tyler Austin – 2-for-5, HR (5), 2B, 3 RBI, R

Gleyber Torres – 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, R

What’s Next?

The Yankees look for the sweep against Minnesota on Thursday afternoon. Jordan Montgomery takes the ball for the Yankees in the weekday matinee. The southpaw has been solid so far this season, posting a 2-0 record with a good 3.80 ERA. Montgomery earned his second victory in as many starts his last time out against Toronto, going six innings and allowing just one run. The Twins will counter with Kyle Gibson, who is in his sixth season with Minnesota. Gibson is 1-1 with a 4.29 ERA in four starts this year. First pitch from Yankee Stadium is slated for 1:05 p.m. .

Article by: Jonathan Kohut

Follow @TheRealKohut Follow @BronxBomberBall