I’ve run out of theories as to why the Twins struggle so mightily to beat the New York Yankees, so it is what it is, folks, which means only one thing: the Twins lost again Monday by a score of 5-2.
The managers occasionally change, the players a little more frequently but the results never do, regardless of the almost yearly “this team is different”verbiage: The Yankees are now a ridiculous 112-39 vs. the Twins since 2002, including the postseason. pic.twitter.com/Zj5MM8oi6O
— Erik Boland (@eboland11) September 5, 2022
The AL Central now looks like this: The Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox both won Monday, so the Guards lead the division by a game, while the Sox are a game behind the Twins.
Joe Ryan gets the ball Tuesday.
Extra innings…
-Starting pitcher Chris Archer did Archer-like things on Monday. He actually gave the Twins five innings for only the sixth time this season, but he didn’t win, he didn’t lose and exited the game with his 15th no-decision start of the season.
-Reliever Trevor Megill took the loss after he served up Aaron Judge’s 54th home run. Bullpen mate Emilio Pagan also allowed a home run, his 12th in 52-plus innings, or a home run about every four innings. Here’s a thought: How about just walking Judge every at bat?
-The Twins and Yankees turned five double plays, including three for the Twins.
-Twins Territory on social media was abuzz late Monday with scuttlebutt that rookie pitcher and St. Paul, Minnesota native Louie Varland will make his major league debut Wednesday in the Bronx. Varland, who has pitched at both Double-A and Triple-A this season, is 8-5 with a 3.06 ERA. More impressive is that he has struck out 146 batters in 126-plus innings. It’s a tall order to face the Yanks, but he also appears to have a live arm.
-New York media, as they always seem to be, were ready and waiting for a little Twins/Yankees fun. From the New York Post game story:
The headline:
Aaron Judge’s 54th homer continues Yankees’ mastery of Twins
The lede:
At a time when most things that could go wrong are going wrong for the Yankees, they still have their two constants: Aaron Judge and beating the Twins.
The details:
They helped the Yankees once again beat the Twins (68-65) — they improved to 112-39 against Minnesota since 2002, including 22-2 in The Bronx since the start of 2015 — after coming off a rough road trip.
And then there was this:
Only 3 more losses to the Yankees to go! #MNTwins
— Negative Dave (@neg_dave) September 5, 2022