MINNEAPOLIS — As the Yankees prepared for their game Tuesday, the visiting clubhouse at Target Field still smelled of stale champagne, the rug still wet from the morning cleaning it underwent hours after being drenched in a playoff-clinching celebration.
Otherwise, there were no signs of a hangover for the Yankees, who got back to work in what their manager called an “uphill battle” to overtake the Rays for the division title.
Cody Bellinger and Spencer Jones went deep while Max Fried turned in his best start since coming off the injured list again, the combination allowing the Yankees to cruise past the Twins 8-1.
The only real headache for the Yankees (88-63) was that the Rays kept winning, courtesy of another walk-off home run from Junior Caminero. That meant the Yankees remained 3 1/2 games back for first place in the AL East with 11 games to play, with their chances of catching up to the Rays for the division getting slimmer by the day, even with a four-game set against them awaiting next week.
“We got to show up and win,” said Bellinger, who went 3-for-4 with a walk. “We expect to win every day and we got to keep on rolling.”
For now, the Yankees controlled the only thing they could by beating up on their longtime punching bag, the Twins (70-81), while moving six games clear of the Red Sox for the top AL wild card.
They gave Fried a 2-0 lead before he even took the mound, courtesy of Bellinger’s two-run home run in the top of the first, and then the left-hander ran with it. Fried completed seven innings for the first time since April 22 and recorded his first win since April 27 (this was his 12th start since), as he scattered one run and six hits while walking none and striking out six across 88 pitches.
“It definitely was nice to be able to put what felt like a full start together,” said Fried, who was still working on a pitch count in his fourth start back from a second IL stint for a left elbow bone bruise. “It’s a mix of feeling good with where we’re at but also knowing we still have stuff to work on. I want to make sure I’m a little bit sharper coming down to the end. We got a big series coming up against Tampa for my next one, so just want to make sure I’m ready for that.”
The Yankees gave Fried plenty of support as they racked up 14 hits against right-hander Bailey Ober and the Twins bullpen. Every member of the starting lineup had at least one hit, with Heliot Ramos, George Lombard Jr. and Anthony Volpe each reaching three times.
Jones delivered the crushing blow to break the Twins’ back in the sixth inning, clobbering a three-run shot off lefty Taylor Rogers to put the Yankees ahead 7-1.
Go beyond the box score with the Bombers
Sign up for Inside the Yankees by Greg Joyce, exclusively on Sports+.
Thank you
Before Jones swatted his sweeper 423 feet, Rogers had not allowed a home run to a left-handed hitter all season (in 133 plate appearances). Jones, meanwhile, went deep against a lefty for the third time (of his 10 big league home runs) — improving to batting .435 with a 1.251 OPS in 46 at-bats against lefties and continuing to show he is worthy of starts against them with plenty of Red Sox southpaws looming in a likely AL wild-card series.
“It’s been awesome,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I know the numbers are great … but I was even talking to Brad in the dugout, it’s like, he’s done it a lot off of some really good lefties. Sometimes you can stumble into some numbers, especially when it’s smaller sample. I feel like he’s having great at-bats against them and controlling at-bats against them. That’s a bomb off a guy that’s really tough left-on-left.”
Earlier in the inning, Ramos had reached base for the third time by drilling an RBI double to the left field corner for the 4-1 lead.
The right fielder, wearing No. 21 for the night to honor his fellow Puerto Rican and “inspiration” on Roberto Clemente Day, went 2-for-4 with a walk while starting for Aaron Judge, who got the day off.
Ramos, who is vying with Jones to start in the outfield against lefties in the postseason, acknowledged that it has been an adjustment not playing every day after being acquired at the trade deadline.
But he has been much better of late, batting .275 with a .896 OPS over his last 16 games.
“I work hard every day for whatever is happening right now,” Ramos said. “Honestly, I stay positive just cheering the boys. I love winning, I love being here, and that’s the main thing I’m worried about right now.”
