Zebby Matthews And Will Warren Great in Game 1

Zebby Matthews of the Minnesota Twins and one of the Yankee youngsters, Will Warren, were both excellent in a 6-2 win for the Yankees. Will Warren threw enough strikes to match Zebby Matthews, but he did give up a couple of solo home runs. Zebby Matthews stifled the Yankees with nine strikeouts in six innings pitched. The offensive woes for the Yankees continued despite Giancarlo Stanton playing right field and hitting another home run.

The team did not do much, particularly Aaron Judge against Zebby Matthews. There is no dominant team in the American League, but the Yankees do not look like a playoff team, do they? Minnesota Twins pitcher Zebby Matthews (52) throws against Detroit Tigers during the first inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, August 5, 2025.

Lineup Summary as Yanks Face Zebby Matthews

The Twins had Byron Buxton as the center fielder, batting leadoff. Kody Clemens was the left fielder, batting second. Ryan Jeffers was the catcher, batting third. Luke Keaschall was the designated hitter, batting fourth. Trevor Larnach was the right fielder and batted fifth. Brooks Lee was the shortstop and batted sixth.  Royce Lewis was the third baseman who batted seventh.

Edouard Julien was the first baseman and batted eighth. Ryan Fitzgerald was the second baseman and batted ninth. Austin Martin pinch-hit for him in the eighth inning. He stayed in to play second base. For the Yankees, Trent Grisham batted first and was the center fielder. Aaron Judge was the designated hitter and batted second. Cody Bellinger was the left fielder and batted third. Giancarlo Stanton was the right fielder who batted fourth.

José Caballero came in for him in right field in the eighth inning. Ben Rice was the catcher who batted fifth. Jazz Chisolm Jr. was the second baseman and batted sixth. Paul Goldschmidt was the first baseman, batting seventh. Ryan McMahon was the third baseman and batted eighth. Anthony Volpe was the shortstop batting ninth. 

News and Notes

Kody Clemens, the Twins’ left fielder, is the son of seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens. The Rocket, as he was known, is the author of the most notorious incident in Yankees’ history. He threw a bat at the Mets’ Mike Piazza in the 2000 World Series. Yesterday, the Yankees put utility man Ahmed Rosario on the Injured list.

Rosario is the second trade deadline acquisition of the Yankees to get hurt after Austin Slater injured his hamstring and is out at least four weeks. Spencer Jones, the Yankees’ number four prospect and the one-hundredth-ranked prospect in Major League Baseball, crushed his thirty home runs of the Year on Sunday. That was Jones’s 14th in 32 games at AAA.

It was crushed: 110.9 mph exit velocity, 436 feet, to the opposite field, per Statcast. Jones reached the milestone in his 81st game of the season. In that time frame, he also has 25 steals. Garrit Cole threw for the first time today. He is expected to be back in the middle of 2026. Ryan Yarbrough is coming back soon, and he also pitched today.

Game Reaction

The early returns of the game were that Will Warren was dealing. He struck out five of the first six batters he faced. Aaron Judge and Max Fried need to start playing better. How they go, so go the Yankees. Warren got beaten for home runs on poorly located breaking balls. He needs to be more careful where he throws those pitches. However, he did pitch into the seventh inning (6.2 innings), which is exactly what the Yankees needed.

Scoring Summary

In the first inning, Bellinger hit a solo home run. Then the Yankees led 1-0. In the second inning, Stanton hit a solo home run. The Yankees led 2-0. It was Stanton’s eleventh home run in just twenty-nine games. Then, later in that inning, Rice hit a home run and the Yankees took a 3-0 lead.

In the sixth inning, Buxton hit a solo home run for Minnesota. It was 3-1 Yankees. That broke a streak of eleven straight hitters retired by Will Warren. In the seventh inning, Larnach hit a solo home run, and the lead was cut to 3-2 Yankees.

In the seventh inning, Grisham singled and McMahon scored. The Yankees extended their lead to 4-2. Then, Aaron Judge singled and Volpe scored. It was 5-2 Yankees. In the eighth inning, Chisolm Jr. hit a solo home run. That gave the Yankees a 6-2 lead.

Final Thoughts

This was an important win over Zebby Matthews. The Yankees usually beat the Twins, especially at home, and they did tonight. An easier schedule is just what the Yankees need. The Yankees have a winnable game against the Twins tomorrow, though Carlos Rodon needs to pitch better (and deeper in the game) for the Yankees. The Yankees face Mr. TBD tomorrow. They have the misfortune of facing one of the best pitchers in all of baseball in Joe Ryan. The pesky Twins were reportedly close to trading him to the Red Sox.