(New York) Aaron Judge hit his 55e homer of the season, Oswaldo Cabrera capped a two-run push in 12e inning with a single and the New York Yankees snatched a 5-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday in the first game of a doubleheader.
Posted yesterday at 10:36 p.m.
Cabrera also struck out a Twins runner at the plate in 10e set to ensure the leaders of the American League East Division have a 30e consecutive season with a positive record.
The Yankees were trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning when Judge snapped a shot that ended 374 feet in the left field bleachers.
In doing so, Judge erased the Yankees mark of 54 home runs by a right-handed hitter, set by Alex Rodriguez in 2007. Roger Maris still holds the Yankees record for most home runs in a season, with 61 in 1961 .
Judge leads the major leagues in home runs and RBIs, with 118. He has homered six in his last eight games and seven in his last 11.
Judge’s circuit was also his 114e at the new Yankee Stadium, which opened in 2009. The old 113 mark was owned by Mark Teixeira.
Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres tied the game at 3-3 with a two-run slap in the sixth inning against Griffin Jax.
Gilberto Celestino drove in a run with a single off Ron Marinaccio that gave the Twins a 4-3 lead in 12e.
With the automatic runner posted at second base, Isiah Kiner-Falefa started the second half of the 12e inning with a single good for a point against Trevor Megill (3-3).
Kiner-Falefa stole second with one out and Jose Trevino hit a single to right field that allowed his teammate to reach third base.
Cabrera then showed up at home plate in a sluggish 0-25. The rookie hit a single to left field, ending a game that lasted four hours and three minutes.
In his first major league outing, Louie Varland, a 24-year-old right-handed pitcher, struck out seven Yankees batters and allowed just three hits in five-and-a-third innings.