Former Yankees sluggers killing Red Sox in crucial Twins series

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - AUGUST 26: Gary Sánchez #24 of the Minnesota Twins runs after hitting a home run against the San Francisco Giants on August 26, 2022 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - AUGUST 26: Gary Sánchez #24 of the Minnesota Twins runs after hitting a home run against the San Francisco Giants on August 26, 2022 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images)

Former Yankees crucial to Twins series win over Red Sox

When the New York Yankees traded Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshelo to the Minnesota Twins back in March, it was somewhat of a nice break for the Boston Red Sox.

In Monday night’s series opener, Urshela put the Twins ahead and cemented their win with a bases-clearing double. Even with four more frames of opportunity, the Sox couldn’t plate the runs to overtake them.

The clutch hit really drives home (no pun intended) how terrible Sox pitching has been. Coming into Monday’s game, Urshela was 1-for-11 with a lone RBI in bases-loaded situations this season.

Meanwhile, the only team Sanchez has homered against more than the Sox is the Baltimore Orioles. Aside from Yankee Stadium and Camden Yards, he’s homered more at Fenway Park than any other ballpark in the game.

On Tuesday night, he hit his 19th career home run versus the Sox. The Twins already had a pretty comfortable 7-4 lead thanks to Nick Gordon’s first career grand slam, but Sanchez felt the need to send one to the third deck anyway.

Sanchez and Urshela haven’t hit for nearly as much power with their new team as they did in their Bronx seasons, but the Sox pitching staff are easy marks.

As Boston slips further and further out of Wild Card relevancy, the only true takeaways from this season will be what not to do when constructing next year’s roster. Hopefully, in 2023, they’ll have some real pitching who can shut down current and former Yankees.