New York Advances To The ALCS With Sweep Of Minnesota
The team that wears the pinstripes is moving on to the American League Championship Series.
How did this happen?
Gleyber Torres cracked his first postseason home run and contributed two deft defensive plays, Luis Severino hurled four scoreless innings before turning the game over to the bullpen and the Yankees once again popped the corks after advancing to the American League Championship Series with a 5-1 victory, completing a series sweep of Minnesota. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-sweep-twins-advance-to-2019-alcs
By completing the sweep, the Yankees dispatched the Twins to a Major League-record 16th consecutive postseason loss -- 13 of which have come against New York, dating to 2004. Though Minnesota led the Majors with a record-setting 307 homers during the regular season, one more than the Yankees, the “Bomba Squad” was largely kept in their ballpark by the Bombers’ staff. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-sweep-twins-advance-to-2019-alcs
That was not the case for Torres, who slugged Jake Odorizzi’s first-pitch cutter over the left-field wall for a second-inning blast that put New York on top. At 22 years and 298 days old, Torres became the youngest Yankees player to hit a postseason home run since Derek Jeter’s memorable fan-aided blast in Game 1 of the 1996 AL Championship Series against the Orioles.”according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-sweep-twins-advance-to-2019-alcs
New York squeezed four scoreless innings out of Severino, though the right-hander’s performance was not nearly as clean as his line would indicate. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-sweep-twins-advance-to-2019-alcs
Torres started a key double play in the first inning, and Severino pitched out of a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the second inning, retiring Miguel Sanó, Marwin Gonzalez and Jake Cave on a sky-high popup and a pair of strikeouts. That prompted Severino to bellow as he departed the mound, and it would not be his last exuberant display of the evening.”according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-sweep-twins-advance-to-2019-alcs
“That situation set the tone for the rest of the game,” Severino said. “I think that was the chance for the Twins to score, and I’m happy that I could throw good pitches enough to get out of that inning.” “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-sweep-twins-advance-to-2019-alcs
In the third, Brett Gardner laced an opposite-field RBI single to pad the hurler’s wallet with another run, and Severino pitched around a pair of hits to keep the Twins off the scoreboard. Severino’s 83rd and final pitch in the fourth was ripped by Gonzalez, but snared behind first base on a stellar play by DJ LeMahieu. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-sweep-twins-advance-to-2019-alcs
Boone clapped his hands, satisfied with Severino’s performance and eager to turn the game over to a bullpen that the second-year manager believes could be the key to the 28th World Series championship in franchise history. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-sweep-twins-advance-to-2019-alcs
“It wasn’t perfect,” Boone said, “but the guys kept making pitches.” “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-sweep-twins-advance-to-2019-alcs
Like Lucy cruelly yanking the football away from an approaching Charlie Brown, the Twins were permitted moments of hope before the Bombers dashed them. Torres made a deft fifth-inning play behind Chad Green to retire Rosario and Judge used his 6-foot-7 frame to track down Sano’s deep drive to right field with an excellent grab in the sixth. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-sweep-twins-advance-to-2019-alcs
“The team who hit the most home runs in the Major Leagues,” Judge said. “To shut them down to seven runs [in the ALDS]? That’s unheard of.””according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-sweep-twins-advance-to-2019-alcs
Didi Gregorius continued to erase memories of an underwhelming September with a seventh-inning RBI single, providing insurance. Rosario hit an eighth-inning homer off Zack Britton, who exited later that inning with a sore right ankle, but Cameron Maybin’s ninth-inning homer restored the three-run lead.according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-sweep-twins-advance-to-2019-alcs
Gregorius added a stellar diving catch with two men on base in the ninth, helping extinguish a potential rally. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-sweep-twins-advance-to-2019-alcs
“It’s always the next man up,” Gregorius said. “You play for these big moments.” “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-sweep-twins-advance-to-2019-alcs
The Yankees planned to spend the evening in Minneapolis, then jet home on Wednesday. Assuming their electricity is operational, they’ll turn their attention to the Tampa Bay-Houston ALDS matchup.”according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-sweep-twins-advance-to-2019-alcs
Meanwhile, Minnesota’s season came to end.
On Monday, there was only one bomba to be found -- and nary a big hit -- in any one of several situations that might have kept the Twins’ magical 2019 season alive beyond a crisp October night in Minneapolis. While playoff baseball finally returned to the Twin Cities for the first time in nearly a decade, it was a short-lived stay, as Minnesota’s postseason came to an end with a 5-1 loss at Target Field and a sweep by the Yankees in the American League Division Series. “according to https://www.mlb.com/twins/news/twins-eliminated-by-yankees-in-al-division-series-sweep
“You don't really want to end a season like this, especially not even winning a game,” C.J. Cron said. “It doesn't feel reflective of what we did this season. It doesn't feel fair. Nothing's fair, but it's just one of those things where we're going to, kind of, hopefully, obviously, take this offseason to kind of get our heads back on straight. We're hungry.”
With that, the thrills of the Twins’ unexpected 2019 season -- the year of the record-breaking 307 homers and the second 101-win campaign in franchise history -- came to an inglorious end at the hands of their historic nemesis with a 16th straight loss in October and a 13th consecutive defeat to New York on baseball’s biggest stage, both Major League records. “according to https://www.mlb.com/twins/news/twins-eliminated-by-yankees-in-al-division-series-sweep
The Yankees have now escorted the Twins out of the postseason in six of Minnesota’s last seven trips. “according to https://www.mlb.com/twins/news/twins-eliminated-by-yankees-in-al-division-series-sweep
But the difficult ending shouldn’t put a damper on the historic show that these Twins put on for a playoff-starved Minnesota fanbase from March to September, nor should it discount the way these Twins fought for their playoff lives in Game 3. “according to https://www.mlb.com/twins/news/twins-eliminated-by-yankees-in-al-division-series-sweep
Gleyber Torres’ deep fly ball barely cleared the left-field wall for a homer in the second inning, while Marwin Gonzalez’s towering drive with the potential to tie the game died at the right-field warning track. Brett Gardner’s weak grounder down the third-base line got through a shifted infield for an RBI single, while Miguel Sanó’s screaming liner to right with a man on second found the glove of a leaping Aaron Judge. “according to https://www.mlb.com/twins/news/twins-eliminated-by-yankees-in-al-division-series-sweep
The Twins, who were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position, finally found a punch in the eighth inning with a solo homer from Eddie Rosario. But the Yankees punched back with Cameron Maybin’s blast and Didi Gregorius’ RBI single in the top of the ninth, dealing more key blows at the right time -- just the punches that Minnesota lacked for three games.”according to https://www.mlb.com/twins/news/twins-eliminated-by-yankees-in-al-division-series-sweep
Next order of business for the team that wears the pinstripes? A matchup against their American League East foe Tampa Bay at Yankee Stadium who they beat this season to win their first division title since 2012. If the opposition is Houston who is a member of the American League West who like New York won their division this season then New York would go on the road and play at Minute Maid Park on Saturday for game one of the American League Championship Series.