Max Fried pitches gem, Yankees smash two homers in 8-1 win over Twins

Max Fried had his longest outing since April, and the Yankees offense did the rest as they defeated the Twins, 8-1, on Tuesday night.

With the Rays’ win earlier in the evening, the Yankees remain 3.5 games behind Tampa in the AL East standings.

Here are the takeaways…

–Cody Bellinger continued his recent hot streak, smashing a two-run shot two batters into the game, after Ben Rice singled to lead off. The left-handed outfielder has now hit three home runs in his last five games. 

-Fried had a strong bounceback start after going just 3.1 innings against the Rockies a week ago. The Yankees southpaw went seven innings, allowing one run on six hits and striking out six. It’s his longest outing since April 22. The only run against Fried came in the second after Royce Lewis beat out a throw by George Lombard Jr. The Yankees rookie took his time in the hole to try and throw out Lewis, but the Twins infielder was called safe and eventually scored on a single with two outs. 

-Lombard would get that run back in the third with a single that scored Heliot Ramos. Lombard finished 2-for-4, his first multi-hit game since Aug. 23 (16 games). But the Yankees would break the game open in the sixth. Ramos doubled home Rice and, two batters later, Spencer Jones smashed a three-run shot to give New York a 7-1 lead. 

–Anthony Volpe, starting at second, went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk and a stolen base. Jose Caballero started at third and went 1-for-5 with an RBI single and a strikeout.

Aaron Judge had the night off, with Bellinger (3-4, HR, 2 RBI), Jones (1-5, HR, 3 RBI) and Ramos (2-4, RBI) contributing in his absence. 

Game MVP: Max Fried

Fried’s longest outing since April was exactly what the Yankees needed after 

Highlights

A 2-run shot for Cody Bellinger to start it off! pic.twitter.com/Y6r7hYSon9

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 15, 2026

George Lombard Jr. makes it 3-1! pic.twitter.com/DozIgEBjXj

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 16, 2026

Heliot Ramos makes it 4-1! pic.twitter.com/ukbyZs1ANh

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 16, 2026

Spencer Jones goes DEEP with a three-run shot in Minnesota!

His 10th homer of the season! pic.twitter.com/opF7ZdPYQ0

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 16, 2026

What’s next

The Yankees complete their three-game set with the Twins on Wednesday afternoon. First pitch is set for 1:40 p.m.

Carlos Rodon (6-3, 2.94 ERA) will take on Zeby Matthews (9-10, 4.98 ERA).