Yankees vs. Twins Series Preview

Yankees vs. Twins

New Yankee Stadium
(four games)

After a successful six-game road trip that saw the Yankees win both series against the Orioles and Blue Jays the Yankees head home for a big ten-game homestand starting with four games against the Twins. Things are still nowhere near perfect for the Yankees, they're still not hitting well with RISP, most of the relievers are a disaster waiting to happen, they still have the second worst ERA in the league (5.53), and the DL is still full, but at least they've won four of their last six.

A few positives from the road trip are that CC Sabathia looks like he's rounding into shape, besides the first inning Joba is throwing the ball very well, they're starting to score some runs without the use of a home run, Phil Coke and Alfredo Aceves look solid out of the pen, and Johnny Damon is the hottest hitter in the sport.

It will be an important homestand for the Yankees who've lost five in a row at home and need to start giving the new stadium fans something to cheer and be excited about. A .500 homestand is not going to cut it. Another important part of the homestand will be the first games at the new stadium for Alex Rodriguez. It should be interesting to see how the fans welcome him back and how he deals with that jet stream in right field. The Yankees are currently 17-17 and in third place in the AL East, 4.5 games behind the first place Blue Jays.

This will be the first time the Twins visit The Bronx this season. They're coming off a three-game sweep of the Tigers and have won five of their last six. Like the Yankees, the Twins have been struggling on the pitching side, they currently have the sixth worst team ERA in baseball with a 5.19 ERA. But unlike the Yankees they do not walk people, the only team in the game with less than 100 walks allowed this year, and they hit with RISP (.288 as a team).

Offensively they're being led by Justin Morneau, Jason Kubel, and the recently activated Joe Mauer, all of which are hitting over .310. Morneau has been their MVP so far leading the team in homers (9), RBI (29), runs scored (26), hits (42), OBP (.383), and SLG % (.582). Kubel leads the team with a .333 batting average, and Mauer has been on fire since coming of the DL - more on him in the players to watch section.

As I mentioned before, there's not much good to say about their pitching. Not one starter has an ERA under 4.27, although Kevin Slowey does have five wins and Joe Nathan and Jose Mijares have been dominant out of the bullpen. The Twins are 18-17, and in a three-way tie with the Tigers and Royals for first place in the AL Central.

The Yankees won last year's season series vs. the Twins six games to four.

Pitching Matchup

Game 1: Tonight @ 7:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, WCBS 880
Phil Hughes RHP (1-2, 8.49 ERA) vs. Francisco Lirano LHP (2-4. 5.75 ERA)

Game 2: Tomorrow @ 1:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, WCBS 880
Joba Chamberlain RHP (2-1, 3.89 ERA) vs. Nick Blackburn RHP (2-2, 4.27 ERA)

Game 3: Sunday @ 1:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, TBS, WCBS 880
A.J. Burnett RHP (2-1, 5.36 ERA) vs. Kevin Slowey RHP (5-1, 4.91 ERA)

Game 4: Monday @ 7:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, ESPN, WCBS 880
Andy Pettitte LHP (3-1, 4.00 ERA) vs. Glenn Perkins LHP (1-2, 4.27 ERA)

Players to Watch

YANKEES: Alex Rodriguez - After hitting a home run in his first at-bat since returning to the DL it was a very quiet road trip for A-Rod. He ended up 3-for-21 with four RBI, and he's also walked four times. This will be Alex's first games at the new stadium and I'll repeat what I said before; it should be interesting to see how the fans welcome him back and how he deals with that jet stream in right field.

Rodriguez has killed the Twins in his career, hitting .333/.400/.670, with 41 HR, and 104 RBI in 115 games.Last year was no different as he hammered Twins pitching hitting .390/.457/.756, with 3 HR and 12 RBI in 10 games.

Rodriguez vs. Lirano: NR
Rodriguez vs. Blackburn: .500/.500/1.000 (3-for-6), HR, 3 RBI
Rodriguez vs. Slowey: .500/.500/.833 (3-for-6), 2 2B
Rodriguez vs. Perkins: .500/.556/.750 (4-for-8), 2 2B, 4 RBI, BB

TWINS: Joe Mauer - The Twins catcher has been red hot since coming off the DL two weeks ago, hitting .455/.547/.795, with 4 HR and 14 RBI in twelve games. In 24 games against the Yankees Mauer is hitting .266/.379/.342, with a homer and five RBI. He also never hit well at the old stadium where he hit .238/.333/.286 with no homers and two RBI in 12 games.

Last year he hit .280/.387/.400 in seven games against the Yanks with a homer and two RBI, but did nothing at the stadium, hitting just .125/.222/.125 in two games in The Bronx.

Mauer vs. Hughes: NR
Mauer vs. Chamberlain: NR
Mauer vs. Burnett: .286/.375/.286 (2-for-7), BB, 2 K
Mauer vs. Pettitte: .500/.571/1.000 (3-for-6), HR, RBI, BB

Injury Report

YANKEES
- Xavier Nady, RF: 15-day DL with an injured right elbow. It was thought that he would need season-ending surgery, but it is now being reported that he may avoid the surgery and be back by mid June.
- Cody Ransom, INF: 60-day DL with a strained right quad.
- Brian Bruney, RP: 15-day DL with a sore right elbow. He threw from the mound the other day and is slowly making his way back.
- Chien-Ming Wang, SP: 15-day DL with hip abductor muscle weakness. He will make his second start for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees on Sunday against Columbus.
- Damaso Marte, RP: 15-day DL with a sore shoulder.
- Jorge Posada, C: 15-day DL with a strained right hamstring. He will miss at least 2-3 weeks.
- Jose Molina, C: On the 15-day DL with a strained left quad.
- Phil Coke has a stiff back and is day-to-day.

TWINS
- Boof Bonser, RHP: He had right shoulder surgery and is out for the year.
- Pat Neshek, RP: 60-day DL as he recovers from right elbow surgery.