Yankees vs Twins Series Preview: New York Looks for Seventh Consecutive Win

Injuries Slowing Down AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins

American League Division Leaders Set for Three-Game Series

The leaders in the American League East and Central divisions are set to square off in a three-game set starting Tuesday  and we have the Yankees vs Twins series preview, right here.

The odds favor the visiting Yankees, will they hold up? Neither team was favored to be leading their respective divisions. Toronto was the preseason favorite in the AL East while the Chicago White Sox were the favorites coming into the season in the AL Central.

The New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins are heading in opposite directions. The Yankees have won six games in a row and have the best record in the majors. Minnesota recently lost four of five games to the lowly Detroit Tigers and are just 4-6 over the last 10 games. Those who bet on MLB games were loving the surprising Twins earlier in the season.

The Twins starting pitchers have a 5.94 ERA over the last 10 games compared to an ERA of 1.40 for the starters for the Yankees. It doesn’t help that Minnesota’s Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan and Chris Paddack are all on the injured list. Bailey Ober was a candidate to start Tuesday’s series opener but he also is headed to the injured list.

The Yankees headed into Monday tied with the Dodgers for the best road winning percentage in the majors.

The Yankees (+600) are second in the odds to win the World Series. The Twins come in +2500.

Series Information

Game: Yankees 39-15 (first in the AL East) Twins 32-24 (first in the AL Central)

Location: Target Field, Minneapolis

Day/Time: Tuesday, 7:40 p.m. ET (teams will also play on Wednesday and Thursday at 7:40 p.m.)

TV: YES

 

Yankees vs Twins Probable Pitchers

Tuesday: Jameson Taillon (Yankees) TBA
Wednesday: Nestor Cortes (Yankees) Chris Archer (Twins)
Thursday: Gerrit Cole (Yankees) Dylan Bundy (Twins)

Aces: Anything but Wild for Yankees

It would be difficult to bet on a team that can throw three pitchers in a series to match what the Yankees have planned for the Twins. Take a closer look at the Yankees vs Twins Series Preview, and you be the judge.

Jameson Taillon, who is scheduled to pitch the series opener, has gone at least seven innings during his last three starts with two earned runs allowed over 23 innings. He has allowed four hits with 10 strikeouts and no walks over 16 innings over his last two starts. With a 6-1 record, 2.30 ERA to go along with 44 strikeouts and five walks this season.

Nestor Cortes is leading Major League Baseball’s starting pitchers with an ERA of 1.50. He has allowed one run or less in four of his five starts.

Gerrit Cole, expected to be the ace coming into the season, leads the Yankees with 81 strikeouts. He has allowed one run in his last two starts with 30 strikeouts in 21 innings.

The trio is a combined 16-3 with 16 quality starts between them. When looking at the scoreboard in Yankees games, runs are often hard to come by for opponents.

Medical Staff Working Overtime on Twins

It would be one thing if the Minnesota Twins were dealing with injuries to key hitters or the bulk of its starting pitching rotation; however, the Twins are currently missing not only key pitchers, but some of their top hitters as well. This Yankees vs Twins Series Preview has been written with the Twins injuries in mind.

Carlos Correa and Miguel Sano were expected to be key pieces in the batting order while the hope was that this was the year when former No. 1 overall pick Royce Lewis would finally make an impact in the majors.

Correa is currently in COVID protocol, Sano is on the 60-day injured list with a knee injury and there is a fear that he may never take another swing in a Minnesota uniform. A knee injury also has Lewis on the injured list, although his injury is not considered to be a long-term one. Outfielders Kyle Garlick and Max Kepler are questionable for Tuesday’s game.

Joe Ryan, Sonny Gray, Bailey Ober and Chris Paddack are all on the injured list for the Twins. They have combined to make 27 starts for Minnesota with a combined record of 10-7.

Who’s Hot

Nestor Cortes, Yankees P: Cortes has allowed one earned run over 15 innings in his last two starts.
Jharel Cotton, Twins P: Cotton has picked up wins in his last two appearances. He hasn’t allowed anybody to reach base over three innings in those two outings.
Aaron Judge, Yankees OF: Judge is hitting .348 with three home runs in his last six games. He has six runs, five RBI and four walks during that stretch.
Jose Miranda, Twins IF: Miranda has at least two hits in six of his last 10 games. He is hitting .361 with four doubles, three homers, six runs scored and eight RBIs during that span.

Who’s Not

Dylan Bundy, Twins P: In his last two starts Bundy is 0-1 with a 9.72 ERA. He has given up 17 hits, including three home runs in 8.1 innings.
Josh Donaldson, Yankees IF: Donaldson is 1 for 10 over his three games. He does have a pair of RBIs, including a walk-off sacrifice fly in the 10th inning in the last game
Ryan Jeffers, Twins C: Jeffers is 0 for 19 with 10 strikeouts over his last six games.
Clarke Schmidt, Yankees P: Schmidt has walked three of the last 11 batters he has faced. He has given up three hits and two runs in 1.2 innings in those two games.

Injury Update

The Yankees bullpen depth is being tested with injuries to closer Aroldis Chapman (Achilles), Chad Green (elbow) and Jonathan Loáisiga (shoulder).

The Twins are without Correa, Sano, Lewis and outfielder Kyle Garlick (hamstring) in addition to the absences of Gray, Ober, Paddack and Ryan.

Yankees vs Twins Betting Analysis

This is the first game between New York and Minnesota since the trade that sent Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela to Minnesota for Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

Urshela is hitting .320 in the last seven games while Sanchez has at least two hits in four of his last 10 games.

After a tough May, Kiner-Falefa is hitting .462 in the month of June but Donaldson is 1 of 10 during the month for the Yankees.

Luis  Arráez is coming off a four-hit game for the Twins and he’ll need to contribute for the Twins who are less than 100 percent.

The Yankees have won the last four games and 11 of the last 12 games against the Twins. Four of the last six games played between the teams were decided by three runs or less.

Eleven of the last 13 contests between the Twins and Yankees had at least 10 runs scored.

Aaron Judge hit three home runs in seven games against the Twins in 2021 but he hit just .192. Jorge Polanco hit four homers for the Twins against the Yankees in 2021.

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