Aaron Judge earned AL Player of the Week honors for a remarkably dominant stretch from September 8-14. The reigning AL MVP led the New York Yankees' offense with five home runs and a 1.760 OPS in that span. But on Monday, Judge and the rest of the Yankees’ bats were silenced by the Minnesota Twins.
Simeon Woods Richardson tossed six scoreless innings for Minnesota, while striking out 11. Carlos Rodon did his best to keep the Yankees in the game with a quality start. New York was still in striking distance, down 2-0 when manager Aaron Boone went to Luke Weaver in the seventh inning. Then it all fell apart.
“Yeah. That was trash,” Weaver said of his performance against the Twins, per The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty. “The body just wasn’t on time. It wasn’t aligned with what I was trying to execute and do.”
Luke Weaver struggles in Yankees’ blowout loss
The Twins thumped Weaver Monday night. He allowed three doubles and two walks as Minnesota scored five runs off the veteran righty. Weaver recorded just one out in a brutal inning before getting pulled for Camilo Doval. When the dust settled, the Yankees trailed 7-0.
“Felt like I was fighting myself the whole time. Mentally, just trying to overcome it and have a good mindset and stay within myself. Those two things weren’t coming together,” Weaver explained.
The 10th-year veteran developed into one of the Yankees’ most trusted relievers last season. And he looked sharp early in 2025, with a 1.05 ERA in his first 24 appearances. However, Weaver landed on the IL with a hamstring strain that sidelined him for 18 games in June. And he’s struggled since his return from the injury.
Weaver now has a 6.21 ERA and 1.359 WHIP in 34 appearances since being activated from the injured list on June 20. And his numbers have been even worse during the Yankees' playoff push. In six September outings, Weaver has an ugly 28.13 ERA and 4.687 WHIP.
New York’s bullpen has been a persistent problem for the team this season. While the Yankees remain confident in their ability to make a deep playoff run, relief pitching could prove New York’s undoing.
Monday’s 7-0 loss to the Twins dropped the Yankees five games behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East. New York is holding onto a one-game lead over the Boston Red Sox for the top Wild Card berth.
