Yankees sweep Twins, advance to ALCS

It is officially acceptable to say “next team up” as the Yankees have swept the Minnesota Twins and will be moving on to face the winner of the Astros and Rays in the 2019 ALCS. Despite only being two games better than the Twins in the regular season and losing their home run record to the AL Central champs, the Yankees absolutely dominated the Twins in this series. With this series now concluded, the Yankees have won 13 straight playoff games against the Twins. This series also resulted in the Yankees having the second-best run differential in a three-game playoff series ever at a mark of +16.

Photo Credit: Twitter

Scores from the series:

Game one: Yankees 10-4

Game two: Yankees 8-2

Game three: Yankees 5-1

Top performers:

Gleyber Torres - .417 average, 1.379 OPS, 4 RBI, 3 2B. 1 HR, 5 R

Didi Gregorius - .400 average, 1.200 OPS, 6 RBI, 1 HR

Aaron Judge - .333 average, .871 OPS, 4 BB, 3 R

Masahiro Tanaka - 5 IP, 1 R, 7 K, .176 BAA

Luis Severino - 4 IP, 0 R, 4 K, 4 H, 2 BB

Aroldis Chapman - 3.2 IP, 0 R, 4 K, 1 H, 2 BB

Takeaways:

The Yankees dominated the Twins in every aspect of the game. They came through more often with runners in scoring position, the defense made highlight-reel plays in big spots, the starters were solid enough to keep the Yankees in the game, and the bullpen was able to hold the leads the offense granted them. The Twins were a force to be reckoned with in the regular season, but the Yankees were able to overpower them with their talented roster.

Going into this next series, the Yankees need to keep this same mentality that allowed them to cruise past Minnesota. They only hit four home runs and relied on stringing together rallies to put up runs. The Yankees made the Twins’ pitchers throw a lot of pitches early as none of the Twins starters were able to go deep into the game. This wore down their bullpen and made them quite vulnerable to the Yankees’ sluggers. No matter which team the Yankees face next, Houston or Tampa, this approach will be key to grinding through both teams’ talented pitching staffs.

Some injuries to keep an eye on include Zack Britton, Aroldis Chapman, and CC Sabathia. Britton tweaked his ankle in game three, and it is not certain yet the extent of the injury. Britton claimed postgame that he was just fine, so it appears that he will be ready to go for the next round. Chapman was seen with a wrap on his pitching hand following the game, but it is not known if it is due to an injury at this time. Sabathia was hopeful to be healthy enough to pitch in the ALDS, but he was still experiencing some discomfort in his shoulder. It is unknown whether or not he will pitch in the ALCS, but he is scheduled to throw a bullpen this week. 

Article by: Ryan Thoms

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