After going 4-2 on a six-game road trip against the Baltimore Orioles and the Cleveland Guardians, the New York Yankees returned home to kick off a homestand against two teams that will give Aaron Boone’s team their toughest tests early in 2023.
The Minnesota Twins entered Yankee Stadium for a four-game series, to be followed by Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, and the Los Angeles Angels. Before the Twins series started, the Yankees found themselves already in a hole in the American League East standings behind the impressive Tampa Bay Rays, who started 13-0 before dropping two out of three over the weekend against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
It’s not a secret that the Yankees have had a lot of success against the Twins, not only in the regular season, but also in the playoffs. Minnesota landed in New York in first place in the American League Central early in the season and they are expected to be near or even at the top of the standings when the regular season ends in October.
The series didn’t start out well for the Yankees as the Twins flexed their muscle in the first two games, winning 11-2 and 4-3 in two different ways. They jumped out with nine first-inning runs in the first game, before rallying for a late win in the second game. The Yankees were able to earn a split by winning the final two games.
With a series split done, here are three takeaways from the weekend in the Bronx.