NEW YORK — Maybe only Mother Nature can stop the Yankees now. With the impending arrival of Hurricane Henri later in the weekend, the Yankees continued to roll on Saturday afternoon. Gerrit Cole blanked the Twins for six innings, Luke Voit continued his scorching hot campaign for playing time and the Bronx kid — Andrew Velazquez — hit his first career major league home run as the Yankees beat the Twins, 7-1, at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees (72-52) won their season-high ninth straight game and clinched their ninth straight series. They have won nine of their last 10 and 20 of their last 25 as they improved to a season-best 20 games above .500.
They improved to 92-36 in regular-season games — 107-38 if your include the postseason — over the Twins (54-70) since 2002.
Voit continued his quest to get playing time with two more hits, including a double and two RBIs. He has 11 RBIs in his last five games and 13 in his last six. He extended his hitting streak to seven straight games, hitting .500 (13 for 26) with three doubles, three homers and 13 RBIs. Tyler Wade had two hits, including a double and an RBI and Giancarlo Stanton doubled and singled and drove in two more runs.
Velazquez, who became a hometown hero with his play on the field and New York City spunk off it, continued to live out his childhood dream. He took advantage of the short-porch in right field with his first career home run with his family watching in the stands.
Cole scattered five hits and a walk. He struck out six and generated 11 swing-and-misses, including seven on his fastball that topped out at 99.4 miles an hour. With those six strikeouts, the 30-year-old right-hander surpassed David Cone for the most strikeouts through 23 starts in a season with 191. That is the most by a pitcher in the American League, but second to Phillies righty Zack Wheeler in the majors.
It was Cole’s sixth start this season of at least six scoreless innings.
He improved to 12-6 and got his ERA back down under three (2.92.) It had “ballooned” to 3.11 after the Rays hit him around for seven earned runs last month.
The Twins made him work for it, though.
He worked around runners on second and third in the second inning and a one-out bases loaded jam in the fifth and ended on a strong note.
After a five-run bottom of the fifth, Cole returned to the mound to finish of his day with a 14-pitch, 1-2-3 sixth inning.
It was a strong start, considering it is just his second after missing 13 games due to COVID-19. Cole earned the win Monday against the Angels in his first start back, going 5 2/3 inning and allowing a run, but admitted he was gassed in the sixth inning.
Lucas Luetge gave up a solo home run to Jorge Polanco in the eighth for the Twins only run.
