1-2 PUNCH!
Yanks see wild-card lead shring to single game after Twins’ two-hitter
Aaron Judge, the Yankees need you.
The Bronx Bombers were nearly no-hit by the less-than-mediocre Jake Odorizzi Wednesday night and saw their lead atop the wild-card standings dwindle to just one game with a 3-1 loss to the Twins.
Odorizzi, whose stat line improved to a 6-10 record and 4.41 ERA, carried his no-no into the eighth inning before Greg Bird of all batters broke it up with a RBI double.
“It’s been a tough year. There’s no if ands or buts about it,” Odorizzi said. “So it’s good to have one of these outings toward the end, feel the energy, show them kind of what I’m capable of doing.”
The Yankees finished with two hits, while Odorizzi struck out five and walked three, matching his big-league high of 120 pitches set while pitching for Tampa Bay against the Twins on June 3, 2016.
Meanwhile, the aforementioned Judge took some more batting practice before the game as he continues rehab from a wrist injury.
His eventual return to the lineup, which he previously estimated will coincide with “meaningful games down the stretch” can’t come soon enough.
The Yankees didn’t get much help on this night from their division rival Orioles, who fell to Oakland 10-0, closing the gap for the top wild-card spot and the homefield advantage that comes with it.
Luis Severino (17-8) allowed one run and four hits in 5 2/3 innings, dropping to 3-6 in his last 11 starts. Severino unsuccessfully tried to persuade-Aaron Boone to keep him in the game in the sixth.
“He wanted to stay in the game. I’m fine with my guys wanting to stay in the game,” Boone said. “He was very pitch efficient. Obviously it wasn’t a pitch-count issue, it was just starting to get a little away and he’s in the fight right now. I respect the hell out of that.”
Severino allowed one hit in the first five innings, then gave up a one-out single to Max Kepler in the sixth followed by Ehire Adrianza’s go-ahead double.
It was a solid bounce-back outing from Severino, whose inconsistency since the All-Star game have cast doubt as to whether he should start the wild-card game.
“My confidence is always up,” said Severino, tagged with the loss in consecutive starts. “I’ve had some struggles but that’s nothing I can’t fix. So I was going to go give 110% and compete for my team.”