Yankees Finish Off Sweep Of Twins With 5-1 Win, Head To ALCS [VIDEO]

The Yankees are back in the American League Championship Series for the second time in three years.

New York completed their three-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins on Monday night, winning 5-1. The game saw the Twins blow one opportunity after another and ended on an Aroldis Chapman strikeout with Minnesota’s tying run on deck. The Twins were 1-12 with runners in scoring position, and the team’s lone hit did not even knock in a run.

The Yankees and Twins were very similar teams coming into this series. The Twins broke an MLB record with 307 home runs this season, while Yankees finished with 306. Both have pitching cores that, while decent, can be quite suspect and mostly rely on the offense to save games.

After the game, the Yankees felt pretty confident about how they’ve played thus far under the national spotlight.

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“The way we played tonight was championship-caliber baseball,” manager Aaron Boone said in between team celebrations.

Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorious — who got an RBI and made an incredible diving catch to keep the game out of reach near the end — was also excited about what’s next to come.

“All we did was go out there and play our best baseball. They have a really good team. I know they’ve been working. All we did was, be in control and played the game,” Gregorious said. “We’re ready to play. It doesn’t matter who we face. But as you can see, we always come out here and play the game. That’s what we’re ready for.”

The loss puts the Twins at 16 straight consecutive playoff losses from 2004-2019, tied for the most in American sports history alongside the Chicago Blackhawks from 1975-1979. Thirteen of those 16 losses came at the hands of the Yankees.

There’s also this fun fact:

The Yankees may be ready, but all they can do now is wait. They will face either the Houston Astros or the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALCS starting on Saturday. The Astros hold a 2-1 series lead over the Rays, and Game 4 of this matchup is set for Tuesday night.