Gregorious grand, Yankees pound Twins
NEW YORK — Didi Gregorius hooked a slump-busting grand slam during a seven-run third inning, and the New York Yankees pummeled the Minnesota Twins again, cruising to an 8-2 victory Saturday for a 2-0 lead in their American League Division Series.
Uber driver-turned-rookie big leaguer Randy Dobnak struggled in an unexpected start as the Twins lost their record 15th consecutive playoff game, including 12 straight against the Yankees. The latter is the longest postseason skid for one club against another in MLB history, topping the dominance displayed by the Boston Red Sox against the Angels from 1986 to 2008.
Minnesota hasn’t won a playoff game since Johan Santana beat the Yankees in their 2004 ALDS opener.
Coaches and players on both sides have downplayed that history, most of which predates current rosters. It’s all too familiar for fans in Minnesota, where the teams will play Monday’s Game 3 in the best-of-five series.
The third-inning shot by Gregorius blew Game 2 wide open while New York batted around. The switch hitter staggered after going deep for the first time since Sept. 10, looping his bat from one hand to another and chomping on bubble gum while he watched the ball fly. Gregorius, set to become a free agent after the season, batted .194 during September and was 0-for-3 in Game 1 on Friday.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone had predicted that if Gregorius could just find a hole, big hits might follow. Sure enough, Gregorius squibbed an infield single in his first at-bat before lifting his homer into the second deck in right field.
The Yankees, who won 103 games in the regular season, used the same lineup in consecutive games for the first time this year, and the batting nine clicked top to bottom. They drew eight walks for the second straight game, and Aaron Judge led the way with two hits and two free passes.
Yankees right-hander Masahiro Tanaka pitched one-run ball for five innings for the win, striking out seven and handing off to New York’s fearsome bullpen after 83 pitches. Tanaka’s career postseason ERA climbed to 1.54, still second lowest by a New York starter with a minimum of four starts behind Monte Pearson (1.01).
Dobnak faltered in just his 10th big-league appearance, taking the loss a week after his wedding in Maryland. The undrafted right-hander allowed Edwin Encarnación’s RBI single in the first inning, stranded two in the second and loaded the bases with no outs in the third before being pulled.
A night after allowing Gleyber Torres to hit a tiebreaking double, key Twins reliever Tyler Duffey scuffled again. The right-hander followed Dobnak and allowed a sacrifice fly to Giancarlo Stanton and an RBI hit to Torres before he plunked Gary Sánchez and Gregorius homered.