Giancarlo Stanton produced two home runs, a double and five RBIs as the New York Yankees cruised to a 9-6 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night in Minneapolis.
Yankees starter Gerrit Cole allowed two runs on five hits over six innings en route to the win.
Aaron Judge had a homer and double and Miguel Andujar also homered for New York, which won its second straight game. Brett Gardner had three hits including two doubles, and Gio Urshela, Kyle Higashioka and Andujar each had two of the Yankees’ 15 hits.
Cole (7-3), pitching for the first time since being linked publicly by Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson to the potential use of illegal sticky substances, struck out nine and didn’t walk a batter. Donaldson went 0-for-3 against Cole, striking out twice, and the pitcher glared at him as he walked back to the dugout both times.
Jorge Polanco hit two home runs, Miguel Sano homered and had three hits and Alex Kirilloff tripled and had two hits for Minnesota. Randy Dobnak (1-6) took the loss after allowing eight runs on 11 hits over 4 2/3 innings. He walked three without recording a strikeout.
The Yankees took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Judge’s 392-foot line drive into the bleachers in left-center.
Gardner doubled home Higashioka, who had singled, in the second to extend the lead to 2-0.
Stanton made it 5-0 in the third with a three-run homer off the batter’s eye in center. The 423-foot drive drove in Judge, who had doubled, and Gleyber Torres, who had walked.
The Twins cut it to 5-1 in the bottom of the third on Polanco’s homer into the plaza behind the right-field bleachers.
The Yankees broke the game open with three more runs in the fifth, on a two-run homer by Stanton and a solo shot into the center field bullpen by Andujar.
Sano’s homer in the bottom of the fifth cut New York’s lead to 8-2. Andujar made it 9-2 with a sacrifice fly in the seventh.
The Twins scored four times in the bottom of the ninth off reliever Brooks Kriske, highlighted by an RBI single from Sano and a two-run homer from Polanco.
Meanwhile Kevin Pillar and Billy McKinney each hit a pair of home runs as New York went deep six times on the way to a victory at Baltimore.
Pillar went 3-for-4 with four RBIs while McKinney finished 3-for-5 with five RBIs. Pete Alonso hit a home run for the third time in two games, and Mason Williams also homered as New York banged out 16 hits.
The Mets scored seven runs in the first three frames, plenty of support for Taijuan Walker (5-2), who went seven innings and gave up one run on five hits with nine strikeouts.
Baltimore’s Matt Harvey (3-7) struggled against his old team as the Mets pounded him for seven runs and eight hits in three innings. Justin Turner homered twice to lead visiting Los Angeles over Pittsburgh.

RESULTS
Yankees 9-6 Twins
Mets 14-1 Orioles
Phillies 2-1 Braves
Dodgers 2-1 Pirates
Cubs 3-1 Padres
Nationals 9-7 Rays
Blue Jays 6-2 White Sox
Athletics 4-0 D’Backs
Rockies 4-3 Marlins
Astros 8-3 Red Sox
Reds 7-3 Brewers
Rangers 4-3 Giants
Mariners 9-6 Tigers
Cardinals 8-2 Indians
Angels 6-1 Royals

Baseball Hall of Fame induction delayed until September
New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter and three others who have already waited almost a year to be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame must wait a little longer.
The Baseball Hall of Fame announced Wednesday that induction ceremonies planned for July 25 at Cooperstown, New York, have been rescheduled for September 8 at an outdoor ceremony before a limited crowd due to Covid-19 safety protocols.
The ceremony, adapting to New York state and federal health guidelines, will pay tribute to the Class of 2020 – which included Jeter, Larry Walker, Ted Simmons and Marvin Miller – after last year’s ceremony was called off, the first time since 1960 no ceremony was staged.
No candidates were elected to the Hall of Fame in 2021.
Jeter was a 14-time Major League Baseball All-Star and a member of five World Series championship teams with the Yankees from 1995-2014. He’s now the chief executive officer of the Miami Marlins.
Walker, a Canadian outfielder, played for Montreal, Colorado and St. Louis and was the 1997 National League Most Valuable Player and home run leader.
Simmons was an eight-time All-Star catch playing for St Louis, Atlanta and Milwaukee from 1968-1988 while Miller was a former executive director of the MLB Players Association.
“We are thrilled to be able to welcome our Hall of Famers, the living legends, and fans back to Cooperstown to celebrate the Induction of the Class of 2020,” Hall of Fame chairman Jane Forbes Clark said.
“Returning the induction ceremony to an outdoor event will provide the baseball community with the opportunity to visit Cooperstown and celebrate the induction of four of the game’s greats.” (AFP)