Odorizzi falters as Twins lose to Yanks; lead in Central down to 2 games

All Star pitcher Jake Odorizzi gave up 9 runs and 10 hits in four innings as the Twins lost the series finale to the Yankees on Wednesday 10-7 at Target Field.  The loss, coupled with Cleveland’s 4-0 win over Toronto left the Twins lead in the American Central at just two games. Minnesota led Cleveland by as many as 11 1/2 games in early June.  The Twins launched three more home runs in the loss as Nelson Cruz, Eddie Rosario and Marwin Gonzalez all went deep.

The Twins travel to Chicago this weekend for a four game series with the White Sox. Jose Berrios will start Thursday’s series opener for Minnesota.

TWINS NOTES:

1. THE TWINS dropped the last game of the series against the Yankees by a score of 10-7 and fall to 19-11 vs. American League East opponents this season.

2. Hit a total of 12 home runs this series which ties the most hit for the Twins in a series this year…the other time came over a three-game set at Baltimore April 26-28.

3. THE ATTENDANCE was announced at 40,127, marking the eighth sellout this season and the highest attendance since Opening Day 2016 (45,785).

4. JAKE ODORIZZI made his 18th career appearance (17th start) against New York-AL…he has now pitched 99.1 innings pitched against the Yankees, his second most vs. any opponent…had seven wins entering tonight, which marked the most against any team and falls to 7-9 over his career vs. the Yankees.

5. Allowed a season-high nine runs passing his previous high of eight done three times previously.

6. NELSON CRUZ hit his 22nd home run of the season, his third in as many days, his fifth in his last eight games and ninth in his last 19 games…the home run marked 382nd of his career tying him with Ryan Howard, Jim Rice and Frank Howard for 68th on baseball’s all-time list…Cruz is now on pace to hit 35 home runs this season.

7. Extended his hitting streak to a season high eight games and his on-base streak to 13 games.

8. EDDIE ROSARIO connected for his 22nd home run this season in the first inning that scored Cruz who reached on a single…is now batting .313 (10-for-32) with two home runs and seven RBI in nine games since being activated from the IL.

9. MARWIN GONZALEZ hit his 12th home run of the season in the fourth inning…marked his fourth home run this season off a left-handed pitcher and is now batting .305 (25-for-82) with four doubles, four home runs and a .837 OPS against southpaws this season.

10. LUIS ARRAEZ has now reached base safely in 33 of 38 major league games this season and his hit in 29…is hitting .379 (47-for-124) with 12 multi-hit games.

Yankees NOTES:

1. THE YANKEES took game three to secure the series…improve to 27-8-2 in series play since 2002 vs. the Twins and have now won nine of their last 11 series against Minnesota.

2. J.A. HAPP did not factor into the decision after tossing 3.1 innings of six-hit ball while allowing six runs (all earned) with two walks and three strikeouts…marks his shortest start this season with his previous low May 20 at Baltimore where he tossed 3.2 innings.

3. DIDI GREGORIUS went 3-for-5 here tonight marking his 15th multi-hit game of the season and his second consecutive…now has 12 hits in his last 23 at-bats and hit .800 (8-for-10) with three doubles, a home run and 10 RBI over this three-game set.

4. MIKE TAUCHMAN recorded a two-run triple in the second inning, his first of the season and just the second of his career.

5. AARON HICKS recorded his 12th home run of the season on a solo shot to right field in the third…of his 12 homers this season, 10 have come off right-handed pitching and six of the 12 have come in the month of July.

6. Is now hitting .329 (25-for-76) with six doubles, seven home runs, 16 RBI, 16 runs scored and eight walks in his last 19 games.

7. GLEYBER TORRES recorded his 20th home run of the season in the third inning, his first since June 25 vs. Toronto, a span of 74 at-bats.

8. Is now slashing .292/.370/.458 with five runs, a double, a home run and three RBI in six games vs. the Twins this season.

9. Becomes just the second Yankees player ever to start a career with consecutive 20+ home run seasons while being 22-years-old or younger, the other was the late Joe DiMaggio.

10. AARON JUDGE extended his hit streak to six games going 2-for-5 this evening…is now hitting .462 (6-for-13) with two doubles, two RBI and a 1.178 OPS over three games this season vs. Minnesota.

11. EDWIN ENCARNACIÓN hit his 17th career home run at Target Field, tied with Salvador Perez for the most at Target Field for any opponent…he homered here earlier this season with Seattle, and now becomes the fourth player to do so twice with different teams (Jim Thome, Josh Willingham and Eric Thames).