Minneapolis – Grisham Shines in Yankees’ Victory

This season, there have been moments when it felt like Trent Grisham’s magic might fade. But, just like that, he pulls something out of his bag of tricks. Now it’s mid-September, with only ten games left, and he’s notched up 33 home runs, proving to be a crucial part of the Yankees’ lineup.

Grisham’s stellar performance continued on Wednesday when he belted two home runs, leading the Yankees to a 10-5 victory against the Twins in the final game of their series in Target Field.

For the first time since September 7, the Yankees (85-67) managed a win over the Blue Jays, narrowing the gap to four games in the AL East standings, thanks to the head-to-head tiebreaker they own.

In a much tighter contest for the wild card, the Yankees hold a comfortable 1.5 game lead over the Astros and the Red Sox.

Interestingly, before Tuesday, Grisham was in a slump, with just one hit in his last eight games. However, he broke out with two big hits on Wednesday, following a robust offensive showing the night before. Since August 20, no one has hit more home runs than Grisham’s 12 in the last 19 games.

Cody Bellinger added a two-run homer in the ninth inning, following strong contributions from Fernando Cruz, Devin Williams, and Luke Weaver, allowing the Yankees to close the door on the Twins (66-86).

This game marked the second of a grueling ten-game stretch for the Yankees, who were set to arrive in Baltimore early Thursday morning for a four-game series against the Orioles.

“What is that,” manager Aaron Boone commented prior to the game. “It’s something everyone has to deal with in some way.”

Pitcher Lewis Gill had a rough outing, failing to complete five innings. Although he previously threw a brilliant no-hit game against the Red Sox, he struggled again, lasting only four innings while giving up five runs on nine hits and two walks.

Gill had two outs in the fifth inning but unraveled, leading to consecutive hits that reduced the Yankees’ lead to 7-3. Following a walk to pinch hitter James Outman, Brooks Lee hit a two-run single that made it 7-5, prompting Boone to bring in Cruz.

The Yankees established an early lead for the second night in a row. Aaron Judge started it off with a two-out double, later scoring on Bellinger’s single to left field.

The Twins capitalized on Gill’s lack of command, taking a brief 2-1 lead through walks, an error, singles, and a passed ball.

But Grisham quickly tied the game with a towering 432-foot home run in the third. In the fourth inning, back-to-back doubles from Paul Goldschmidt and Jackson Dominguez pushed the score to 3-2 before Grisham hit a three-run shot, extending the lead to 6-2.