DIDI BLASTS PAST JETER IN ROMP
Didi’s blast helps power Yanks in Minny sweep
The Yankees are trying to set up their starting rotation as well as they can for a postseason run.
They’ll make things much easier on themselves if they hit like they did Wednesday, when the Yankees went deep three times to continue their dominance over the Twins in an 11-3 victory in The Bronx.
Didi Gregorius’ three-run homer capped a six-run third inning and gave the shortstop his 25th home run of the year to set a franchise record for home runs at the position — breaking the mark set by Derek Jeter in 1999.
It also helped make up for a shaky outing from Luis Severino, who the Yankees had shifted to start on Wednesday to keep him on regular rest.
“For me, what’s most important is winning,” Gregorius said. “That’s what we play for. As long as we’re winning, I’m good, I’m happy.”
And the Yankees have been doing that a lot lately, first finishing off the Orioles’ playoff chances and then giving the Twins’ hopes a serious blow.
The Yankees, who surpassed last year’s win total with their 85th victory, head to Toronto to face the Blue Jays on Friday having won seven of their past eight to take a seven-game lead for the first wild-card spot. Severino struggled though. He gave up three runs in the third inning, a frame he needed 46 pitches to complete. He was done in mostly by a 13-pitch at-bat to Joe Mauer that ended with an RBI single and was followed by a firstpitch, two-run single by Jorge Polanco to give the Twins a 3-0 lead.
But Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning, his 45th, and Gary Sanchez followed with his 32nd to tie the game at 3-3.
An inning later, the Yankees knocked former Met Bartolo Colon from the game thanks to an RBI double by Greg Bird, runscoring singles from Brett Gardner and Sanchez and then Gregorius’ blast that reached the second deck in right.
If the Yankees do end up hosting Minnesota in the wild-card game Oct. 3, they are now 8-1 against the Twins at Yankee Stadium since the start of the 2015 season.
The Yankees remained three games behind the Red Sox in the AL East after Boston’s 9-0 victory in Baltimore on Wednesday night.
“We’re in a better spot than maybe we were on Sept. 1, but there are no guarantees,” Joe Girardi said. “If you’re fortunate to get to the playoffs, you want to be playing well at that time. We will continue to do everything we can to win every game and see where we fall.”
Despite all the positive news, Severino’s performance was cause for concern.
“I just thought he was a little off today,” said Girardi, who pulled Severino after 71 pitches.
The Yankees opted to keep Severino on regular rest Wednesday so he could possibly pitch twice more before the end of the regular season if Girardi believes they can catch Boston for the AL East title in the final week. The Red Sox have led the division by least two games since Aug. 3.
Severino entered Wednesday having never faced the Twins — or anyone on their roster — and had no trouble until there was one out in the third, when they loaded the bases.
Mauer and Polanco singled before Severino got Eddie Rosario to fly to left and struck out Byron Buxton.
The Yankees came back in the bottom of the inning and Chasen Shreve tossed three scoreless in- nings, as the bullpen combined for six shutout innings. And Gregorius helped put the game away.
Girardi had more of a reaction to Gregorius’ record-setting performance than the shortstop did.
“It’s pretty impressive considering the great players they’ve had here,” the manager said. “Didi has had a great year. He’s had a really special September and it’s been important to us.”