The Yankees got all the runs they would need in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you. Facing former Yankee pitcher Michael Pineda, Gleyber Torres singled, and Brett Gardner and Cameron Maybin drew walks to load the bases. But Pineda struck Gio Urshela and Mike Tauchman out, so it looked like he would work out of it.
But DJ LeMahieu hit a dribbler up the middle, a Luis Sojo 2000 World Series kind of hit. The best thing that Twins shortstop Jose Polanco could have done was just get to it, and hold the Yankees to 1 run on the play, Torres. Instead, he tried to throw DJLM out, and threw wildly. Gardner also scored, and it was 2-0 Yankees.
The Twins got a run back in the top of the 4th, but the strikeout victims of the 2nd made up for it in the bottom of the 4th. Urshela hit an infield single, and Tauchman hit a home run, making it 4-1 Bronx Bombers.
German allowed a single and a walk in the top of the 7th, and, seeing that he had thrown 108 pitches, Aaron Boone decided he had seen enough. He brought Tommy Kahnle in to relieve. He struck Max Kepler out to end the inning and the threat.
Kepler would be the only better that Kahnle faced, but it was enough to set a new team record. He had made 10 straight appearances without allowing a both of a run, making him the 5th Yankee pitcher to do so. The currently-injured Dellin Betances was the 4th. That strikeout gave Kahnle 11 such appearances, and the team record all to himself.
The rain returned in the bottom of the 8th, and after a delay, the umpires called the game. Yankees 4, Twins 1. WP: German (6-1). SV: Aroldis Chapman (7). LP: Pineda (2-3).
So, with the season 20 percent in the books -- and a strange season it has been -- the Yankees are 19-14, 2 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Eastern Division. The Boston Red Sox are 5 games back, the Baltimore Orioles 6 1/2 back, and the Toronto Blue Jays 9 1/2 back.
Tonight, the Yankees begin a home series with the Seattle Mariners. CC Sabathia, a future Hall-of-Famer, starts against Felix Hernandez, who has a chance of making it, but the fact that he's never appeared in a postseason game doesn't help. And they call him "King"? Ha!
*
Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 2, on Wednesday night at 8:00, home to the Montreal Impact. They beat the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-2 this past Saturday.
Days until Arsenal play again: 3, on Thursday, at 2:45 PM New York time, away to Valencia, in Spain, in the 2nd leg of the Semifinal of the UEFA Europa League. Arsenal take a 3-1 aggregate edge into it, but they'll have to win the Europa League in order to qualify for next season's UEFA Champions League, after their pathetic 1-1 draw at home to Sussex team Brighton & Hove Albion yesterday. Arsenal are doomed to finish 5th, behind North London arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur. We talk about Spurs "bottling it" every year, but, this time, both North London teams bottled it.
Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 24, on Thursday, May 30, at Yankee Stadium II. (I previously had this incorrectly listed as being at Fenway Park.)
Days until the next Women's World Cup kicks off: 32, on Friday, June 7, in France. A little over 1 month. The U.S. team is 3-time and defending Champions.
Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 33, on Saturday night, June 8, against the Philadelphia Union, at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania. The next game against New York City FC will be on Sunday night, July 14, at Red Bull Arena. The next game against the New England Revolution will be on Saturday night, August 17, at Red Bull Arena. The next game against D.C. United will be on Wednesday night, August 21, at Audi Field in Washington.
Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 43, on Tuesday, June 18, at the brand-new Allianz Field in St. Paul, home of Minnesota United, in the opener of the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup. A little over 6 weeks.
Days until the Yankees and Red Sox play each other in London: 54, on June 29. Under 8 weeks.
Days until Arsenal play in America: 70. Exactly 10 weeks. On July 15, they will visit the Denver suburbs to play the Colorado Rapids. On July 17, they will visit the Los Angeles suburbs to play Bayern Munich. On July 20, they will visit Charlotte to play AS Roma. And on July 23, they will visit the Redskins' stadium in the Washington suburbs to play Real Madrid. This almost certainly means no Emirates Cup this Summer.
Days until the next North London Derby: Unknown, as both Premier League matches, and a League Cup match, have been played this season. The next season starts on August 10, which is 96 days from now, but the PL never puts a Derby on the opening weekend. The Gunners and Spurs usually play each other in N5 in October or November, and then in N17 in February or March.
Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 117, on August 31, home to the University of Massachusetts. Under 4 months.
Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: Unknown, because the 2019 schedule hasn't been released yet. Usually, the next season begins on the 1st Friday in September, which would be September 6, which would be 123 days. It has been announced that East Brunswick and its arch-rivals, Old Bridge, will no longer play each other on Thanksgiving Day. In fact, many of the local Thanksgiving rivalries have been moved back to the opening night, September 6. Whenever the Big Green play the Purple Bastards, it will be under a new head coach, because Bob Molarz, in charge for the last 6 seasons, has resigned.
Days until the New Jersey Devils play again: Unknown. Traditionally, a new NHL season begins on the 1st Thursday in October, which would be October 3, which is 150 days from now. Under 5 months. The new schedule is usually released around June 20 or so. We shall see.
Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: Unknown. But the Devils never open against either the New York Rangers, a.k.a. The Scum; the New York Islanders; or the Philadelphia Flyers, a.k.a. The Philth.
Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: 208, on Saturday, November 30, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. Under 7 months.
Days until my 50th Birthday, at which point I can join AARP and get discounts for travel and game tickets: 226, on December 18, 2019. A little over 7 months.
Day until the premiere of the final Star Wars film, Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker: 228, on December 20, 2019.
Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 260, on January 21, 2020. Under 9 months.
Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 445, on July 24, 2020. Under a year and a half, or a little over 14 months.
Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 547, on November 3, 2020. A little over a year and a half, or under 18 months.
Days until a fully-Democratic-controlled Congress can convene, and the Republicans can do nothing about it: 608, on January 3, 2021. Under 2 years, or under 20 months.
Days until Liberation Day: 625, at noon on January 20, 2021. Under 2 years, or a little over 20 months. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not just from Donald Trump. Having Mike Pence as President wouldn't be better, just differently bad, mixing theocracy with plutocracy, rather than mixing kleptocracy with plutocracy.
Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Beijing, China: 1,005, on February 4, 2022. Under 3 years, or under 33 months.
Days until the next World Cup is scheduled to kick off: 1,295, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. Under 4 years, or under 43 months. The charges of corruption against Qatar may yet mean that they will lose the tournament, in which case it will be moved to a nation where it would not be too hot to play it in June and July.