The Yankees' strategy under general manager Brian Cashman in the "Baby Bombers" era, July 27, 2016 to the present, has been, "Bomb the opposition with home runs, so that it doesn't matter how good your pitching is."
As we have seen, "Have good starting pitching" is a better starting point. It's worked for the opposition, and, this season, especially lately, it's been working for the Yankees.
These last 2 games against the Minnesota Twins, the Yankees haven't gotten good starting pitching. But Cashman's strategy has worked, anyway.
Jameson Taillon started, and didn't get out of the 5th inning, meaning, even if his team was leading 20-0, according to the rules, he couldn't be the winning pitcher. Nevertheless, when he left, the score was 5-4 in his favor.
This was thanks to home runs in the 1st inning by Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton (just like Cashman drew it up), "small ball" that culminated in an RBI single by Judge in the 4th (not how Cashman drew it up), and a bases-loaded walk by DJ LeMahieu in the 5th. (Plate discipline? Absolutely not how Cashman drew it up!)
That would be all the runs the Yankees needed, as Lucas Luetge, Wandy Peralta and Ron Marinaccio were each just good enough to not allow any runs. But Anthony Rizzo hit a 3-run homer in the 7th, putting the game away. There were 2 more runs in the 8th, including an RBI single by the much-maligned Joey Gallo.
Yankees 10, Twins 4. WP: Luetge (2-2). No save. LP: Cole Sands (0-2).
The Toronto Blue Jays and the Tampa Bay Rays also won last night, so the Yankees remain 7 games ahead of the Jays, and 8 ahead of the Rays.
The series with the Twins concludes tonight, at Target Field in Minneapolis. Nestor Cortes starts against Chris Archer.