NEW YORK — Aaron Judge, Didi Gregorius and a brilliant bullpen rescued New York from a rugged start and lifted the Yankees to their first postseason victory in five years.
Gregorius’ three-run homer tied the score after Minnesota knocked out Luis Severino in the first inning, a pumped-up Judge showed his most emotion this season when he hit a two-run shot in his playoff debut and the Yankees beat Minnesota 8-4 on Tuesday night in the AL wild-card game.
Brett Gardner also homered for the Yankees, who chased Ervin Santana after two innings and once again eliminated the Twins from the playoffs.