After a highly successful West Coast road trip, the Yankees again displayed their recent dominance on Tuesday in the Bronx.
The team’s newest star, Luis Gil, pitched another six scoreless innings, hitting another huge home run (this time to Giancarlo Stanton), and Aaron Judge added two hits and two RBIs.
And of course, the Twins were in town and we won again, this time 5-1.
The win extended the Yankees’ winning streak to six games, putting them one game away from a season-best record and putting them in a tie with Philadelphia for the best record in the major leagues.
They have two more games coming up against their punching bag, the Twins, who they have won all four games against this season.
“It’s been fun,” head coach Aaron Boone said of his team’s 43-19 start, and the team’s performance should only get better with Gerrit Cole playing well in his first rehab start after missing the first few months of the season with an elbow injury.
Gil allowed just one hit but remains one of the most hittable starting pitchers in the major leagues.
So when Gleyber Torres hit a solo homer in the second inning and Judge smacked a two-run double the next, the game seemed decided.
The only blemish was a home run by Royce Lewis off Tommy Kahnle in the seventh inning, but Stanton gave the Yankees some breathing room in the eighth inning with his 15th homer of the season, a two-run homer into the second deck in left field.
“When they all get in sync, it’s unbelievable,” Stanton said of the Yankees’ middle lineup.
Stanton then corrected his own thinking.
“We don’t have to go all out,” Stanton said. “We put pressure on every pitcher we face. Sooner or later we’re going to hit their weakness.”
Stanton noted that even on a night when Juan Soto didn’t get a hit at second base, he still drew two walks in front of Judge.
Boone noted the “just relentless nature” of the attack.
“What Juan and Aaron are doing is really special, but so is the supporting cast,” Boone said.[Stanton] “They’ve been a threat up the middle all year… and they’re getting contributions from the bottom of the order too.”
The milestone came Tuesday from Torres, who has three home runs in his past 13 games.
Max Kepler’s jumper just missed the target, making it Torres’ fifth home run of the year.
But “having two monsters at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions helps,” Boone added.
All of this came against a Twins team that has been performing well since struggling through the first few weeks of the season.
Gill is 7-0 with a 0.60 ERA in seven starts since May 1 and, as Boone noted, held Minnesota scoreless despite not being a dominant pitcher.
Gill struck out “only” six batters on Tuesday night, but it marked the 10th time in 12 starts that he held the opposing team to three hits or fewer.
The Twins threatened in the top of the third inning when Christian Vázquez doubled with one out and advanced to third on a grounder by Trevor Larnach.
Gil recovered and got Carlos Correa out with a 98 mph four-seam fastball, the first of three strikeouts Gil recorded against the shortstop.
Judge dunked down the right field line to send DJ LeMahieu and Anthony Volpe home for a two-run double to make the score 3-0.
Kahnle replaced Gill in the top of the seventh inning and allowed a run for the first time in five appearances this season.
Ian Hamilton pitched a scoreless eighth inning before Luke Weaver closed out the ninth with a perfect game.
