Giancarlo Stanton, Carlos Rodón help Yankees take down Twins in series opener
The Yankees’ 5-1 win didn’t start off on the best note in Minnesota on Tuesday, but things quickly fell in their favor after Carlos Rodón surrendered a leadoff homer to Ryan Jeffers on his second pitch of the game.
Oswaldo Cabrera swiftly tied the contest in the second inning, plating Anthony Rizzo with a sacrifice fly. Anthony Volpe then gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead with an RBI double later in the inning.
The third frame saw Giancarlo Stanton hit a rocket off of Twins starter Chris Paddack. With the bases empty, Stanton crushed a change-up 427 feet at 114 miles per hour.
A modest shot compared to the two bombs he hit at Yankee Stadium last week, Stanton now has nine homers. That’s tied with Juan Soto for the second-highest figure on the Yankees.
Aaron Judge leads the team with 10.
The Yankees scored for a third consecutive inning when Alex Verdugo added a two-run double in the fourth.
The Bombers ultimately recorded 12 hits against Paddack, who allowed five earned runs over five innings. The right-hander also walked two and struck out four.
While Paddack struggled, Rodón dominated after Jeffers’ homer while leaning heavily on his fastball. The lefty logged six innings, permitting just the one run while totaling six hits, zero walks and six strikeouts over 102 pitches.
Rodón, who now has a 3.31 ERA, has not issued a walk in his last three starts.
With a win in the books — Clay Holmes shut the door while maintaining his spotless ERA — the Yankees will turn to Marcus Stroman on Wednesday. The righty, a bit off in his last few starts, will face Minnesota’s Pablo López.
DJ on the right track
DJ LeMahieu is almost ready for game action ... again.
The versatile infielder is expected to begin a rehab assignment this Thursday or Friday with Double-A Somerset, according to the New York Post. LeMahieu has been ramping up baseball activities over the last week, including live batting practice sessions at the Yankees’ complex in Tampa on Saturday and Tuesday.
LeMahieu also did some defensive work at Tropicana Field over the weekend with the Yankees in Tampa to play the Rays.
Delayed multiple times, LeMahieu has been slowly working his way back from a nondisplaced fracture in his right foot. He suffered the injury on March 16 when he fouled a ball off of his foot in a spring training game.
LeMahieu was initially supposed to start a rehab assignment on April 19. However, that was pushed back a few days at the recommendation of doctors.
The 35-year-old started that assignment on April 23, only for him to leave the game after just one inning due to swelling in his foot. That led to another shutdown.
The Yankees and LeMahieu are hoping that his latest assignment will be free from setbacks.
Another Cole bullpen
Gerrit Cole threw a bullpen in Tampa on Tuesday, his fourth since being diagnosed with elbow inflammation in spring training. Cole was expected to hang back in Tampa with the Yankees in Minnesota this week.
Cole threw 36 pitches, but he did not progress to two ups, or simulated innings, per the Post. He’ll have to check that box before facing live hitters.
Rehab roundup
Elsewhere on the rehab circuit, Jasson Domínguez (UCL surgery) found himself batting second on Tuesday, the start of his rehab assignment with Single-A Tampa.
Jorbit Vivas started a rehab assignment with the Tarpons as well.
Meanwhile, Tommy Kahnle (delayed throwing program) had his rehab assignment transferred to Double-A Somerset.
