MINNEAPOLIS — The New York Yankees endured their most crushing defeat of the season Monday night, dropping a 7-0 decision to the struggling Minnesota Twins. The loss exposed glaring weaknesses at the worst possible time.
Defensive mistakes from Jose Caballero and a bullpen implosion by Luke Weaver turned a matchup against one of baseball’s weakest clubs into a game that may have ended New York’s division dreams.
With the defeat, the Yankees slipped to 83-67. They trail the Toronto Blue Jays by five games in the American League East with only 12 left on the schedule. Because Toronto owns the head-to-head tiebreaker, the gap is nearly impossible to close.
Caballero’s costly mistakes doom early innings
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Jose Caballero, filling in at shortstop for the sixth straight game while Anthony Volpe recovers from a shoulder injury, struggled badly. In the third inning, he got a glove on Edouard Julien’s sharp grounder but failed to control it, allowing the ball to roll into center. The play was ruled a hit, but it put runners on the corners with no outs.
The next batter, Austin Martin, hit a double-play ball directly at Caballero. Instead of making a quick flip to second, Caballero hesitated and took several steps toward the bag before tossing it to Jazz Chisholm Jr. Martin beat the relay to first, and Minnesota pushed across the opening run.
“He started like he could take it himself and then he changed, but by that point it turns a little too late to turn the double play,” manager Aaron Boone said. “You got to go right there and take it yourself or flip it. I think he should have flipped it right away, and we get the double play.”
Caballero’s night didn’t improve. In the fifth inning, he doubled with one out, giving the Yankees a rare chance to rally. But he was immediately picked off second, ending the threat before it started.
Weaver’s meltdown opens floodgates
Carlos Rodon delivered a quality outing and kept the game close. He scattered five hits across six innings, yielding just two runs. The only big blow came when Brooks Lee launched a solo homer in the fifth.
Radon left after six innings trailing 2-0, but the bullpen erased any hope of a comeback. Weaver entered in the seventh and unraveled. He faced seven batters, recorded just one out, and gave up five runs on three hits and two walks.
The dagger came when Martin roped a bases-clearing double. Weaver had him in an 0-2 hole, then lost command and worked the count full before serving up the hit.
“That was trash,” Weaver said. “The body just wasn’t on time, it wasn’t aligned with what I was trying to execute and do. I felt like I was fighting myself the whole time.”
Weaver has now allowed 10 earned runs in his last six appearances, covering only 3⅔ innings. His decline raises serious doubts about his role as the postseason approaches. There are growing fears of fatigue creeping into the Yankees team.
Division hopes slip away in Minneapolis
AP Photo/Matt Krohn
The defeat was a snapshot of everything wrong with the Yankees in September. Weak defense, shaky relief pitching, and silent bats combined to produce their most humiliating loss of 2025.
Ryan McMahon admitted the team’s effort looked flat but insisted it wasn’t intentional. The Yankees had just finished a grueling 12-game stretch against contenders and arrived in Minneapolis in the early hours Monday after a late night in Boston.
“Not on purpose, that’s for sure,” McMahon said. “It’s the game of baseball and it’ll humble you real quick. But we got to get back to it tomorrow.”
Even with the travel grind, fatigue cannot excuse being held to two hits by one of baseball’s worst pitching staffs.
Yankees offense vanishes against unheralded starter
Simeon Woods Richardson, a former Mets prospect, dominated the Yankees. Entering with a 4.58 ERA, the 24-year-old struck out a career-high 11 in six shutout innings. He allowed only two hits and three walks, baffling a lineup that looked lost.
The Yankees had four runners reach second base all night. None advanced to third. The complete lack of offense stunned a crowd that has watched New York crush Minnesota for two decades. Since 2002, the Yankees had gone 125-45 against the Twins, including the postseason — a .735 winning percentage that made this matchup one-sided for years.
Giancarlo Stanton’s struggles continued. He struck out in all four plate appearances. Over his last 15 games, he is hitting .118 with 27 strikeouts, though he has managed three home runs in that span.
The division chase is all but over, but the Yankees remain in control of their wild card chances. They hold a one-game edge over Boston for the American League’s top wild card spot. The Red Sox, however, own the season series tiebreaker.
New York entered this series expecting to take advantage of Minnesota’s weak rotation before facing tougher opponents in the final stretch. Instead, they turned in their flattest effort when they could least afford it.
“A lot of guys think we should have been a lot better tonight,” McMahon said. “But you got to tip your cap sometimes, come back tomorrow and get after them.”
For the Yankees, the margin for error is slim. Performances like Monday night’s can’t be repeated if they expect to play beyond early October.
Esteban Quinones is a proud graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Growing up just blocks away from Yankee Stadium in Upper Manhattan, Esteban developed a deep love for the New York Yankees, a passion that has been a constant throughout his life. Whether it's cheering for the Yankees or crafting strategic communications, Esteban brings dedication and enthusiasm to producing content around all things Yankees.
