Twins fail to find clutch hit, continue downtrodden history against Yankees

Bobby Nightengale, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jul 3, 2026

Published in Baseball

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The Twins have a new manager, new faces atop their front office leadership structure, new players that cycle through the roster and, for the last quarter-century, the same results whenever they play the New York Yankees.

It didn’t matter that the Yankees were on a seven-game losing streak Friday, their longest skid in nearly three years. The Twins have won five of their last six series, but when they see the Yankees, it’s like the Washington Generals and the Globetrotters.

Ben Rice hit a two-run homer off Twins rookie starter Mike Paredes after a 53-minute rain delay in the third inning, and reliever Eric Orze gave up two more runs in the seventh during the Twins’ 5-2 loss at Yankee Stadium before a crowd of 45,104.

The Twins, who have dropped 29 of their past 37 games at Yankee Stadium, have lost 72% of their games (44-112 record) against New York since 2002.

Paredes walked to the mound for the third inning, then was told to turn around when the grounds crew began to unfurl the tarp. When Paredes returned — after the crowd erupted watching the Argentina-Cape Verde World Cup game shown on the videoboard — Trent Grisham hit a two-out single that deflected off the first-base bag.

Next up was Rice, who started with a 3-0 count in each of his first two at-bats. The first time, Rice broke his bat swinging at a change-up. In the third inning, Rice deposited a full-count fastball into the right field for a 3-1 lead and his 24th homer of the season. Paredes yelled into his glove as Rice trotted around the bases.

Kody Clemens gave the Twins a 1-0 lead in the first inning when he drilled a two-out, two-strike curveball from Yankees ace Gerrit Cole into the Twins bullpen beyond the left field wall. It was Clemens’ 15th homer of the season and his ninth in his last 25 games.

The lead didn’t even last a batter into the bottom of the first inning because, well, that’s what happens when the Twins play the Yankees.

Grisham welcomed Paredes to the Bronx with a leadoff homer that landed in the second deck in right field, ending a seven-pitch at-bat. That was the only batter Paredes allowed to reach base in his first time through the lineup.

Clemens added a run in the fourth inning, an inning that started with his leadoff infield double. He hit a ground ball that bounced off Paul Goldschmidt’s glove at first base and rolled into foul territory. Then Clemens scored on a two-out single from Victor Caratini, unafraid to challenge Cody Bellinger’s arm in left field.

In a one-run game, the Yankees padded their lead in the seventh inning against Orze. Ryan McMahon lined a leadoff double to right field, and José Caballero followed with an RBI single to center. Caballero stole second, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a sacrifice fly from Grisham.

The Twins, meanwhile, left runners in scoring position. Luke Keaschall was stranded after a one-out double in the fifth inning. The Twins loaded the bases in the eighth through an infield single and two walks, but Fernando Cruz induced a ground ball against Royce Lewis to escape the jam.

The Twins have the highest-scoring offense in the American League, slightly outpacing the Yankees, and both teams totaled six hits Friday. The Yankees capitalized. The Twins were 1 for 12 when hitting with a runner in scoring position.