Yankees Clinch Playoff Berth Monday, Roll Past Twins 8-1 Tuesday to Stay 3.5 Games Behind Rays

The New York Yankees are headed to October for the third straight year. Monday night in Minneapolis, the Yankees fell behind the Twins 2-1 in the sixth inning after a string of defensive miscues, then blew past them with a six-run eighth to win 8-3, according to Major League Baseball's official recap. Jose Caballero homered and doubled, and Aaron Judge crushed his first home run since returning from a fractured rib, a three-run shot off A.J. Minter that put the game away.

The clinch itself came a few outs before the final pitch. The Detroit Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5, eliminating Toronto from wild card contention and locking in New York's postseason berth regardless of how the Twins game finished, per Yahoo Sports. The Yankees have made the playoffs three consecutive years and for the eighth time in nine seasons under manager Aaron Boone, according to MLB.com.

"We've checked that first box and have that opportunity now," Boone said in an on-field interview with the YES Network, as reported by Yahoo Sports. "Obviously there's a lot of important games still in front of us the rest of the way, but we're excited we'll be able to take our shot."

Monday's win wasn't clean. Pinstripe Alley's game recap detailed how Ryan McMahon's error and misplays by rookies George Lombard Jr. and Spencer Jones in center field let two unearned runs score in the sixth, chasing starter Will Warren, who otherwise pitched well: 5 2/3 innings, two runs (both unearned), five hits. Those same two players, Lombard and McMahon, helped spark the eighth-inning rally that flipped the game.

"Every year you go through a lot, it seems like, but we've been through a lot this year with injuries, with adversity," Boone told MLB.com. "But credit to them for coming together."

Tuesday's Follow-Up

The Yankees didn't let up. Tuesday night, they beat the Twins again, 8-1, this time behind left-hander Max Fried, who allowed one run over seven innings on 88 pitches, according to the Associated Press via CBS News. It was Fried's first win since April 27 and his longest outing in nearly five months after he spent 71 games on the injured list across two stints with a bone bruise in his elbow. Since the All-Star break, Fried has a 1.83 ERA with 50 strikeouts over 44 1/3 innings across nine starts.

Cody Bellinger opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the first inning, his 16th of the year. He's hitting .377 over his last 17 games. Spencer Jones added a three-run shot in the sixth off Taylor Rogers, with all four runs in that inning unearned after an error by Twins rookie shortstop Kaelen Culpepper, who was later pulled with left hamstring tightness. New York now has 11 players with 10 or more home runs this season, per CBS News.

Aaron Judge sat out Tuesday's game to rest after his Monday homer, CBS News reported. The Yankees improved to 88-63 and stayed 3 1/2 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays (91-59) for the AL East lead. The Twins fell to 70-81 and are 7-16 in their last 23 games.

What's Left

Rookie center fielder Spencer Jones, who committed one of the costlier misplays Monday before homering Tuesday, described Judge's impact bluntly. "I like to describe him as a force of nature," Jones told MLB.com. "He's inevitable in a lot of cases, so it's going to be fun down the stretch."

Pitcher Will Warren made clear the Yankees aren't settling for a wild card. "When we're at full strength, I feel like we're unstoppable," Warren said, according to MLB.com. "This is the baseline. Like, this is what we're expected to do."

Left-hander Carlos Rodón (6-3, 2.94 ERA) starts Wednesday afternoon as New York goes for the three-game sweep against Minnesota, facing right-hander Zebby Matthews (9-10, 4.98 ERA), per CBS News. After that, the schedule turns decisive: a four-game series at Yankee Stadium against the division-leading Rays begins September 22, with the AL East title very much still in play with under two weeks left in the regular season.