C.C. Sabbathia Helps Lead Yankees To 4-1 Road Victory Over Twins

C.C. Sabathia allowed one run and struck out seven and Didi Gregorius hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning to lift the New York Yankees to a 4-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.

C.C. Sabbathia Helps Lead Yankees To 4-1 Road Victory Over Twins

With the win in the opener of a four-game series against the Twins in Minneapolis, the Yankees (32-34, 4th in AL East) ended a four-game losing streak. The Twins (20-46, 5th in AL Central), meanwhile, lost their third straight game.

Sabathia (5-4) extended the best stretch of his career. The veteran left-hander threw a season-high 116 pitches in six innings, putting runners on in four of them. His ERA over his last seven starts increased from 0.71 to 0.86.

“My command was off all over the place,” Sabathia said.

It took the starter 46 pitches to get through the first two innings. He begged manager Joe Girardi to let him go out for the sixth despite having already thrown 104 pitches.

“He had done the job, so I felt good about it,” Girardi said.

Yankees relievers Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and closer Aroldis Chapman combined to throw three scoreless innings with four strikeouts to preserve the win, with Chapman getting his 12th save.

Gregorius’ big hit in the seventh came off Twins left-handed reliever Fernando Abad. His blast into the right-field seats broke a 1-1 tie.

“He threw me a fastball right down the middle,” Gregorius, who is himself left-handed, said. “I wasn’t looking to hit a home run, but it happened. You want to at least drive one run in. That’s what you always look for in that situation.”

Up until Gregorius’ homer, the Yankees struggled offensively. Minnesota starter Kyle Gibson, winless in an injury-filled season, held New York to two hits through five scoreless innings. The Yankees loaded the bases with zero outs in the sixth, but managed only one run on Jacoby Ellsbury’s single.

Gregorius entered the game with the second-highest batting average in the majors by a left-handed batter against left-handed pitching. The homer, his 15th hit in 33 at-bats against lefties since May 7, raised that mark to .368. He batted .247 against lefties last year.

“You’ve got to make adjustments to try to get better,” Gregorius said. “When I’m facing lefties, I try to keep my front shoulder in as long as I can so I don’t fly open. Second half of the season last year, that’s when I figured out everything hitting-wise. It’s still working for me, so I don’t see why I have to change it.”

 Outfielder Carlos Beltran returned to the Yankees’ lineup two days after having fluid drained from his inflamed left knee. He went 0 for 3 playing right field, and Girardi took him out as a precaution in the seventh once New York had gained the lead.

“I didn’t feel any pain after they took me out of the game,” Beltran said afterward. “I came inside, and the knee looked the same as it was when I showed up to the ballpark. I took it as a positive day.”

 Minnesota’s only run came in the bottom of the fourth off Sabathia. Eduardo Nunez singled on a grounder to Beltran and drove in a run by Max Kepler. 

Lefty Pat Dean (1-2, 4.17 ERA) will start for the Twins in the second game of the four-game series on Friday night. Dean is coming off a strong start against the Boston Red Sox, as he limited them to one run over 6 1/3 innings in a no-decision on Sunday. Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka (3-2, 3.08 ERA) will start for the Yankees after a day of rest.

PHOTO: MINNEAPOLIS, MN – JUNE 16: CC Sabathia #52 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning of the game on June 16 , 2016 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)