Cole (2-3, 4.01 ERA) took the ball Friday with his team desperate for a stopper, and he got the assignment against a Twins lineup sending out Mike Paredes (0-1, 4.60 ERA), who was fresh off a loss to Colorado where he didn't make it out of the sixth. Neither arm was exactly rolling into this one, but only one of them had a clubhouse hanging on every pitch.
New York was already down Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, and Friday added another names to the pile — Carlos Rodon landed on the 15-day IL with elbow inflammation and Spencer Jones sat out sick. Minnesota wasn't exactly whole either, playing without Byron Buxton for a second straight game while catcher Ryan Jeffers opened a rehab assignment down in St. Paul. The Yankees were still big favorites on paper, which tells you a lot about how far this Twins rotation has been picked apart.
The two sides traded punches early — Minnesota grabbed a first-inning run, New York answered right back, then broke it open with a two-run third. The Twins clawed one back in the fourth, but New York put the game away for good with a two-run seventh, exactly the kind of separation a slumping lineup needed to finally exhale.
Minnesota came in having won 3 of its last 5, including a series win in Houston, and looked like a team catching the Yankees at the perfect moment. Instead, Cole did what he's made a habit of doing against this particular opponent, and the Twins' shorthanded lineup couldn't scratch out enough against the back end of New York's bullpen to make it interesting late.
- Day-To-DayByron Buxton CF — Buxton (hip) remains out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Yankees.
- 10-Day-ILRyan Jeffers C — Jeffers (hand) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul on Friday, Aaron Gleeman of AaronGleeman.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILAnthony Banda RP — The Twins placed Banda on the 15-day injured list Monday with a left lat strain.
- 15-Day-ILBailey Ober SP — Ober (elbow) struck out one batter and allowed three earned runs on seven hits and no walks over 3.1 innings in a rehab start Sunday with High-A Cedar Rapids.
- 15-Day-ILMick Abel SP — Abel will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow, Aaron Gleeman of AaronGleeman.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILCole Sands RP — Sands underwent an MRI on Friday that showed healing in his injured forearm, though inflammation was still present, MLB.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILGarrett Acton RP — Acton (shoulder) resumed throwing off a mound last week, MLB.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILDavid Festa SP — The Twins announced June 1 that Festa (shoulder) has started a throwing progression, MLB.com reports.
- Day-To-DaySpencer Jones CF — Jones (illness) is not in the starting lineup for Friday's game against the Twins.
- 10-Day-ILGiancarlo Stanton DH — Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that Stanton (calf) has restarted a running program and will take live at-bats against rehabbing left-hander Max Fried (elbow) on Tuesday, David Lennon of Newsday reports.
- 10-Day-ILAaron Judge RF — Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Friday that Judge isn't expected to be ready for a re-evaluation later this week, when he'll be at the four-week mark in his recovery from a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.
- 15-Day-ILCarlos Rodon SP — Rodon said his UCL is intact, but he's dealing with "heavy inflammation" in his left elbow, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports.
- 15-Day-ILMax Fried SP — Manager Aarone Boone said Tuesday that Fried (elbow) is scheduled to throw another session of live batting practice Sunday, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports.
- 60-Day-ILClarke Schmidt SP — Schmidt (elbow) tossed a side session Wednesday and is "a couple of weeks" away from facing live hitters, per MLB.com.
For New York, this was less about validation and more about survival — a fanbase watching Judge's rib fracture and Stanton's calf strain drag into July needed literally any sign of life, and a win over a division opponent, even a limping one, was exactly that. Minnesota, meanwhile, heads back into a rotation crunch that isn't fixing itself anytime soon, with three of its top arms already lost for the summer.
Neither club is who it was projected to be in March, but Friday's opener was a reminder that even a reeling Yankees team can find its footing with its ace on the mound, while a scrappy Twins group keeps finding ways to lose the games where the pitching matchup says they shouldn't.