MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton homered and Carlos Rodón overcame a shaky start and worked six-plus strong innings as the New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins 5-1 on Tuesday night.
Alex Verdugo added a two-run double for New York, which has won nine of 12. The Yankees continue to thrive in Minnesota where they are 29-15 all-time at Target Field and boast the highest winning percentage of any opponent at the park.
Rodón (4-2) allowed a leadoff home run to Ryan Jeffers in the bottom of the first inning and surrendered three hits in the frame. He gave up six hits overall and didn’t walk a batter, finishing with six strikeouts before being lifted following a leadoff single by Carlos Santana in the seventh. The 31-year-old left-hander had retired 11 in a row before Santana’s hit.
“They had things going in the first, just had to lock in,” Rodón said.
Rodón has allowed two runs or less in seven of his 10 starts this season. Ian Hamilton relieved Rodón and allowed a pinch-hit single by Edouard Julien, but came back to strand both runners. He pitched two scoreless innings, and Clay Holmes worked a perfect ninth.
“That’s the Ian we know where it’s good life to the sinker and the four-seam, jumping out ahead like he’s been doing a lot, but able to put some guys away with either the strikeout ball or some weak contact,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I thought that was as good as Ian’s thrown in probably a few times out, so that was encouraging to see.”
Twins right-hander Chris Paddack (4-2), who had won three straight starts, surrendered a career high-tying 12 hits and five runs in five innings. Minnesota lost for just the fourth time in 21 games.
“We need to play a cleaner game,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said when asked about a couple of misplays in the outfield. ”That was clearly not one of our best games defensively. Made a few mental errors out there, things we haven’t done a lot of this year at all. I don’t anticipate that carrying forward. I don’t anticipate us playing like that on the defensive side of the ball tomorrow. We have to be sharper than that.”
New York scored twice in the second to erase the early deficit, getting a sacrifice fly by Oswaldo Cabrera and an RBI double by Anthony Volpe. Stanton hit his ninth homer of the year in the third, a 427-foot liner into the Twins’ bullpen in left-center field that had a 114-mph exit velocity.
“Just being able to stay in my legs, stay moving around better and just contribute,” Stanton said of the impact his offseason regimen has had this season.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Yankees: Boone said INF DJ LeMahieu (foot fracture) and RHP Gerrit Cole (right elbow inflammation) are on their way back to New York after getting rehab work done at the team’s Tampa, Florida, complex. LeMahieu got a series of at-bats and defensive work, and Boone said he’d start a rehab assignment on Thursday or Friday. Cole threw about 30 pitches in another throwing session and “everything went well,” according to Boone.
Twins: A recent MRI showed RHP Justin Topa has a 25% tear of the patellar tendon in his left knee and he received platelet-rich plasma and stem cell injections in the knee, according to team trainer Nick Paparesta. Topa was seen in the clubhouse before the game with his knee immobilized. The injection was to hopefully promote healing and avoid surgery. He will be re-evaluated in six weeks. … OF Byron Buxton (right knee inflammation) has been running and did on-field work before Tuesday’s game. The team announced during the game that he will play two rehab games with Triple-A St. Paul on Wednesday and Thursday. … RHP Brock Stewart (right shoulder tendinitis) also had a platelet-rich plasma injection in his shoulder.
UP NEXT
RHP Pablo López (4-2, 3.89 ERA) starts the middle game of the three-game set on Wednesday for Minnesota. New York will start RHP Marcus Stroman (2-2, 3.80 ERA).