Santana was strong away from home this season, winning 10 of those games on the road where he had an ERA of 2.71 covering 17 starts. Judge led the AL and shattered the rookie record with his 52 home runs. The Twins, who finished the regular season with 85 wins and a stroll of a victory against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, have the more experienced starting pitcher in Ervin Santana.
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Minnesota and NY are both in the playoffs after successful rebuilds, with Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton powering the Twins and Aaron Judge emerging as an MVP contender with the Yankees.
The victor of this matchup will play the Cleveland Indians in the American League Division Series. “I think the buildup before the game is nerve-racking, but once we step out on the field, it’s the same game we’ve been playing since we were little kids”. Counting the postseason, Yankees are a whopping 89-33 against the Twins since the start of 2002, including 45-14 in the Bronx.
Luis Severino will be on the mound for the Yankees.
“We realize we’ve still got a lot of work to do”, said outfielder Brett Gardner. The game will also stream live online through Watch ESPN. Las Vegas oddsmakers have the New York Yankees installed as a huge favorite at -230.
The Yankees eliminated the Twins in a division series four times from 2003 to 2010.
Didi Gregorius hit 25 home runs this season. Yankees are in the wild-card game for the second time in three seasons after losing to Dallas Keuchel and the Houston Astros 3-0 in 2015.
Both teams earned wild-card spots in the American League after missing the postseason one year ago, with Minnesota’s quick turnaround from a 103-loss campaign in 2016 perhaps even more impressive than the unexpected return to October ball for the Yanks after they’d failed to qualify in three of the previous four seasons.
The Twins should play like they have nothing to lose, because really, they don’t. Yankee Stadium is one of the most hitter-friendly parks in the league, and the Yankees use it well. Twins went 7-12 against the defending AL champs this season; Yankees were 2-5.
The Yankees are clearly the better team, starting pitcher included. “Whenever we’re done, and hopefully it’s not for a while, I’m sure that will be pushed to the forefront”.
When they meet again in the 2017 playoffs, the Yankees will need just one game to end Minnesota’s brief postseason run. It’s imperative that Ervin Santana and the Twins’ bullpen find a way to keep the Yankees in the park, and let their superior defense make plays behind them.
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Twins manager Paul Molitor, a member of the 3,000-hit club, said he suggested that the Minnesota hitters do more guessing at the plate than usual to combat the right-hander’s arsenal.
