Maybe the Twins can play spoiler after all against these New York Yankees.
Simeon Woods Richardson made the best start of his young pitching career, three doubles in the seventh inning triggered a five-run outburst and the Twins went on to beat the Yankees, the team’s all-time nemesis, 7-0, limiting the Bronx Bombers to just two hits.
The star of the show was SWR, who fanned a career-high 11 batters across six innings with no runs on two hits and three walks on 92 pitches. The bullpen also tossed three scoreless innings, although it took reliever Travis Adams 29 pitches to get through the eighth inning. But he did get through it, as did Pierson Ohl in the ninth, and the Twins emerged victorious.
“In some ways he (Simeon) was great early on, but it almost looked like he got even more focused as the game went on,” said (Manager Rocco) Baldelli to MLB.com. “That’s not always an easy thing to do. It’s a really good lineup. … You’ve got to make nothing but good pitches, good decisions, and really be at your best. He was at his best tonight, and it was great to watch.”
Zebby Matthews gets the ball Tuesday.
Extra innings…
–The Twins are 66-84.
–Not only did SWR strike out 11, he also picked off a runner at second base.
–How did the seventh inning unfold? The Twins got doubles from Trevor Larnach, Brooks Lee, Austin Martin and a single from Kid Keaschall, plus walks from Byron Buxton and Eddie Julien, to score five runs.
–Lee doubled and homered in the game, which he really needed because he’s been hitting little better than .200 the past month.
–Austin Martin also had a big night, including a dramatic catch in left field to get the Twins out of the top of the eighth inning. He also scored a run and drove in four more.
–With the win, including postseason play, the Twins improve to 46-125 against the Yankees since 2002.
–The New York Post’s game story headline: ‘Yankees turn in dud against lowly Twins as AL East hopes slip further away’