READY FOR OCTOBER
With sweep of Twins, Yanks continue steady march toward playoffs
NEWYORK» Aaron Judge hit his AL-leading 45th home run and topped 100 RBIs, Didi Gregorius surpassed Derek Jeter for the most home runs by a Yankees shortstop and New York beat the Minnesota Twins 11-3 Wednesday for a three-game sweep.
The game was briefly halted in the fifth inning when a foul ball down the third-base line off the bat of Todd Frazier struck a young girl, who was carried out of the stands, given first aid and taken to a hospital. The protective netting at Yankee Stadium ends at the home plate side of each dugout, and the team said in July it is “seriously exploring” extending the netting for 2018.
Frazier knelt down and covered his head, and many other Yankees and Twins watched in stunned silence as the fan was helped. The Yankees said they weren’t allowed to provide more information on her condition.
The Yankees, who have won 10 of 12, began the day three games behind AL East-leading Boston. They opened a seven-game advantage over the Twins for the top AL wild card with 10 games remaining.
Minnesota started 1½ games ahead of the Angels for the league’s last playoff berth. The Twins have lost five of six and were outscored 18-6 in the three-game series.
Judge hit his eighth homer of September, a two-run drive that began the comeback from a 3-0 deficit. He added a sacrifice fly for his 101st RBI, joining Joe DiMaggio, Tony Lazzeri and Hideki Matsui as the only Yankees rookies to reach the century mark.
Judge’s opposite-field drive down the right-field line came on an 0-2 pitch from Bartolo Colon. Gary Sanchez followed with a shot into Monument Park, his 32nd, to go back-toback with Judge for the second time in the homestand.
Greg Bird’s RBI double in a sixrun fourth chased Colon (4-6 in the AL and 6-14 overall), and Brett Gardner and Sanchez followed with run-scoring singles.