The New York Yankees delivered one of their most complete performances in weeks, overpowering the Minnesota Twins 6-2 on Monday night.
Everything clicked — from Will Warren’s commanding start to a flawless bullpen effort, capped by a barrage of four home runs.
The win pushed the Yankees to 63-56, giving them a slim but valuable one-game lead for the final AL Wild Card spot.
Warren Brings the Length Yankees Have Been Missing
August had not been kind to New York’s rotation, which was laboring under short outings and shaky command.
Max Fried and Carlos Rodón have hit a late-summer lull, Luis Gil is still recalibrating, and Cam Schlittler hasn’t gone six innings yet.
Warren changed that narrative. The young right-hander worked 6.2 innings, allowing just two runs without issuing a single walk.
His pitch mix kept Minnesota hitters off balance, racking up seven strikeouts while yielding only three hits — though two left the park.
Byron Buxton tagged him in the sixth, and Trevor Larnach followed in the seventh, when Aaron Boone stretched him a bit.
Still, Warren’s ERA dipped to 4.34, and more importantly, he provided the length New York’s bullpen desperately needed.
Yankees Thrive on the Long Ball
The Yankees recorded 10 hits, but the night’s loudest statement came from their power bats, flexing vintage Bronx Bombers form.
Cody Bellinger wasted no time, hammering his 21st homer of the season in the opening inning to set the tone.
Giancarlo Stanton and Ben Rice each went deep in the third, giving New York an early cushion and jolting the crowd.
Minnesota clawed back to within one in the seventh, but Trent Grisham and Aaron Judge added timely RBI singles in the bottom of the seventh to halt momentum.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. capped the scoring with a no-doubt solo shot in the eighth, restoring that electric crack-of-the-bat sound.
The Yankees have lived and died by home runs all year, but Monday night showed how dangerous that formula can be.
Weaver and Bednar Lock It Down
After Larnach’s homer, Boone turned to Luke Weaver, who calmly retired the final out of the seventh inning.
Weaver then spun a perfect eighth, continuing a season that has made him one of the team’s most trusted arms.
David Bednar, as steady as they come, took the ball in the ninth and retired the side in quick, surgical fashion.
The pair has become Boone’s security blanket, the kind of late-inning duo that can shorten games in October.
Equally impressive: the Yankees didn’t issue a single walk all night, thanks to Warren’s control and the bullpen’s precision.
The Twins’ free-swinging approach certainly helped, but it was still a refreshing reminder of how efficient this staff can be.
Momentum at a Crucial Time
This wasn’t just another win — it was a game that hinted at what the Yankees could be when everything aligns.
They combined length from the starter, airtight relief work, and multi-homer firepower, the baseball equivalent of hitting every green light on the drive home.
If Warren can continue delivering quality starts, and the bullpen stays sharp, New York’s playoff hopes could shift from survival mode to confidence mode.
For now, they’ll savor this one — because in a Wild Card race this tight, nights like Monday can be season-defining.
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