About Last Night: Yanks Squeak Past Twins

By Paul Semendinger

September 17, 2025

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Jacob Ruppert would have liked the game last night, or at least the start of it:

"During the 1920s New York Yankee owner Jacob Ruppert once described his perfect afternoon at Yankee Stadium. 'It's when the Yankees score eight runs in the first inning,' Ruppert said, 'and then slowly pull away.' (Peter Golenbock)

Quick Stats:

• Cam Schlittler: 4.2 innings, 4 runs, 3 earned, 5 walks, 6 strikeouts

• Ryan Yarbrough: 0.1 innings, 4 hits, 4 runs

• Mark leiter, Jr: 1.2 innings, 1 hit, WIN

• David Bednar: 1 inning, 1 run, SAVE

• The Yankees had 16 hits

• Every Yankees starter had at least one hit

The Game (In Short):

The Yankees scored a lot of runs. So did the Twins.

The Game (In A Little More Detail):

The Yankees scored lots and lots and lots of runs. The Twins then also scored a bunch of times.

The Game:

• In the first inning, the Yankees banged out three hits, had a sacrifice fly, and scored two runs. Yankees 2-0

• In the second inning, the Yankees banged out five hits including a three run blast by Trent Grisham, and scored four runs. Yankees 6-1 (The Twins scored a lone run that inning.)

• In the third inning, the Yankees had three hits, a walk, two sacrifice flies, and scored three runs. Yankees 9-1

• In the fourth inning, the Yankees slacked off. They had only two hits and scored but one run. Yankees 10-1

• In the fifth inning, the Yankees didn't score at all. Even worse, the Twins had a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning and scored another run after. Yankees 10-4

• The Yankees again did not score in the sixth inning. \The Twins kept scoring in their half of the inning plating four more runs. Yankees 10-8

• Everyone was tired. No one scored in the seventh inning.

• No one scored in the eighth inning.

• The Twins got a homer in the bottom of the ninth to make it a one run game, but could not plate another. Yankees win 10-9

My Thoughts:

• The way this game started is how I envision many of these games going over the last two weeks of the season. The Yankees should have no trouble scoring tons of runs in most of these games. They'll score early and often. Unfortunately, they also need to pitch well, and they did not do that last night. What should have been a laugher, wasn't.

• Sometimes when wins come too easy, teams or players fall into bad habits. That did not happen a few weeks ago before the Yankees played the best teams in the league. The hope is that it also doesn't happen in the playoffs. Then again, last night, the Yankees barely held on to what was a very big lead so the idea that this win was easy wasn't necessarily true.

• The Yankees' bullpen is a concern, still.

• I think Cam Schlitter has taken himself out of the running for a start in the post season. That being said, he'd be tough to hit for an inning or two coming out of the bullpen. (I'm only talking the 2025 post season. He should be a starter next year.) In fact, as I look at his 2025 innings, it is time to begin to think about shutting him down as he has pitched more innings this year than any other season in his professional career. It's also fair to say that his last 60 innings, all in the big leagues, have been the highest stress innings he's ever thrown. If I ran the Yankees, Cam Schlitter would start no more games this year. The Yankees should be considering his long-term health.

  
  

Something To Think About:

YES put up a graphic about home runs last night that caught my eye.

Yankees Top 5 Seasons All-Time, Home Runs:

• 2019 = 306 homers

• 2018 = 267 homers

• 2025 = 254 homers (plus last night's game)

• 2022 = 254 homers

• 2012 = 245 homers

  
  

Look at the years when all these home runs have been hit and then think about the idea that Babe Ruth (and other greats from the past) wouldn't do well in today's game, or they at least wouldn't do as well which is a common (and I believe mistaken) narrative. The seasons when the Yankees have hit the most homers have all been recently. It seems home runs are easier to hit today than in the past.

Let's go back to the Top Ten seasons:

• 2019 — 306 HR

• 2018 — 267 HR

• 2022/2025* — 254 HR

• 2012 - 245 HR

• 2009 — 244 HR

• 2004 - 242 HR

• 2017 - 241 HR

• 1961 - 240 HR

• 2024 - 237 HR

Except for 1961, an outlier season, all of the big home runs seasons are in the most recent years. It seems that home runs are easier to hit than ever before...

In 1927, the Yankees hit only 158 homers. That team had Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, Bob Meusel, and Earle Combs and their output doesn't even compare to the amount of home runs teams hit today. Sure, the game has changed, but this idea that the pitching today is so much better seems to be false on its face. Pitchers today, it is clear, give up a lot more homers than they used to. In that way, at least, it is clear the pitching isn't better.

A common pitching narrative today is, "The players of the past never had to hit against 100 miles-per-hour relief pitchers." That sounds fair, but it's also not accurate or true. Look at the Yankees' bullpen right now. Look at the pitchers they've thrown out there this season. Would Ryan Yarbrough have made the big leagues in 1927? Would Carlos Carrasco? How about Mark Leiter, Jr.? Even last night, the Yankees' best option in the eighth inning was Devin Williams - a change-up pitcher. This idea that every team is stacked with a collection of hard-throwing arms who are all superior to the pitchers Babe Ruth faced simply isn't true.

The way the game is played today, the Babe might hit 100 homers in a season. If he did that, or even if he would blast "only" 80, his numbers would dwarf any player of today. Seeing how many home runs are hit today, it's clear that the Babe would still be blasting homers. If he was playing today, Aaron Judge, Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, and the rest would watch the Babe and say, "Man, I'm not even in that guy's league."

(As I promised, I'll have a long article coming that argues that the game wasn't easier and may have even been tougher to play when the Babe played than today, but for that, everyone will have to wait a bit. Patience is, after all, a virtue.)

Next Up:

The series concludes tonight at 7:40 p.m. Luis Gil will pitch for New York in a game most fans won't be able to watch because it'll be streaming. (Yes, I'll complain about that always. I'll again have the game summary because even the dedicated fans who write here most likely won't be watching and I don't blame them. That's a big problem for the game going forward - when your biggest fans don't tune in, something is very very wrong.)

After tonight, the Yankees will next play the Twins on July 3, 2026 at Yankee Stadium. They'll be in Minnesota again on September 14, 2026.