Aaron Judge hit his 55th home run, leading the major leagues and producing the only blemish in what was an outstanding major league debut for Louie Varland, before the New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins 5-4 on Wednesday. after 12 innings in the first matchup of a doubleheader.
Oswaldo Cabrera capped a two-run drive with a single in the 12th. Cabrera also threw out a runner at the plate in the 10th as the AL East leaders secured a winning season for the 30th consecutive time.
Judge hit the fence for the fourth straight game after finding a changeup and disappearing into left field in the fourth inning. New York thus began to reverse a 3-0 deficit.
Judge also set the Yankees record for right-handed hitters, beating Alex Rodriguez’s 54 homers. Roger Maris set the team’s season record of 61 homers in 1961, one more than Babe Ruth in 1927.
Gleyber Torres tied the injury-decimated Yankees at 3-3 with a two-run homer in the sixth off Griffin Jax.
After Gilberto Celestino hit an RBI single that gave Minnesota a 4-3 lead in the 12th, rookie Greg Weissert (3-0) escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam when Minnesota Carlos Correa lifted a balloon and his countryman José Miranda did the same.
The loss was by Trevor Megill (3-3).
For the Twins, the Venezuelans Luis Arráez 5-2 with a run scored, Jermaine Palacios 1-0 with a run scored. Puerto Ricans Carlos Correa 6-1, Jose Miranda 5-2 with one run scored and two RBIs. Colombian Gio Urshela 5-0. The Dominicans Gary Sánchez 5-1, Gilberto Celestino 5-2 with two RBIs.
For the Yankees, Venezuelans Oswaldo Cabrera 6-1 with an RBI, Gleyber Torres 4-1 with a run scored and an RBI, Marwin González 1-0 with a run scored, Oswaldo Peraza 5-3 with a run scored. The Dominicans Ronald Guzmán 5-0, Miguel Andújar 4-0.