Yankees need Twins’ stupidity to snap 4-game skid, but we’ll take it

For as bad as things were going for the New York Yankees, the one team that’s always good to run into while they’re playing poorly is the Minnesota Twins. We don’t know why, but they’re always ready to fold against the Bombers.

That’s exactly what happened on Tuesday night, which could help New York wake up from their slumber. This one had a little bit of everything, but mostly ineptitude from the Twins.

The Yankees made sure to put traffic on the base paths to add pressure, but Minnesota sealed the deal with four errors and some awful late-game pitching.

But before that, Yankees fans were worried. DJ LeMahieu led the game off with a double, but nobody could get him in. Then the Twins took a 2-0 lead in the bottom half of the first. Great. This again.

Thankfully, the offense was able to wear down old friend Michael Pineda, who was forced out of the game after 4.1 innings of work and 76 pitches. But he got no help from his defense and the relievers that followed.

Jorge Alcala had one of the worst wild pitches you’ll ever see, which plated Brett Gardner as the game-tying run in the fifth.

A comedy of Twins errors guided the Yankees to victory.

Why does it sound like we’re complaining? Well, that’s because the Yankees loaded the bases THREE times in this one and failed to record a hit. Their first runs of the game were scored on a walk, wild pitch, and sac fly/error.

Confused by that last one? Here’s your evidence.

Twins third baseman Willians Astudillo made an error the play before to load the bases and then decided to cut off this throw, allowing Gary Sanchez to score. Would Sanchez have been out? We don’t know, but it sure looked like he may have been if the throw was able to get to the catcher.

That gave the Yankees’ the lead, but fans were back into a frenzy when it appeared as if Jordan Montgomery convinced manager Aaron Boone to leave him in the game with a runner on second (though we’re not completely sure if Boone was actually going to remove him) only to give up an RBI double in the next at-bat to … another old friend in Rob Refsnyder. Tie game. Again.

But we have another error! Thanks, Twins!

Wade’s speed helped there, too. That’s why aggression on the base paths matters! It tests the defense! Can we learn from this, please?

But forget about that for a minute, we have another error! In what could have been an inning-ending double play, Andrelton Simmons forgot to step on second base, allowing another run to score. Judge beat out the throw, too.

Replay comes through for the Yankees. Let us go.

And finally, the fun came in the top of the ninth. First, Gary Sanchez uncorked a two-run shot to continue his encouraging run of form lately.

https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/1402467777991041024?s=20

7-3.

Then Miguel Andújar tattooed a second-decker. 449 feet. 8-3.

This one ended 8-4. We’ll take every win we can get, but we’re not going to ignore the same old issues. They were still there. Eleven runners left on base. 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position. Another grounder into a double play with the bases loaded.

For now, though, we’ll enjoy the win. 32-29. Staying alive. Still waiting for the turnaround. We’ll be here, however long it takes.

Yankees: Gerrit Cole responds to Josh Donaldson cheating allegations

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole has no patience for Minnesota Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson singling him out for sticky substances and cheating.