Twins and Yankees Set for Wild Card Showdown

            (by Travis Aune MN Sports Unlimited Founder)

            The Twins return to postseason play for the first time in seven years tomorrow when they face the hated New York Yankees in the Wildcard Game. The winner will face the team with the best record in the American League the AL Central champion Cleveland Indians. The Twins have not been in post season play since 2010 and last year they finished with the worst record in baseball at 59-103. This is the first time in Major League history that a team has lost 100 games and made the playoffs the following season. The Twins have had a rough playoff history against the Yankees.  In 2003, 2004, 2009, and 2010 the Twins were eliminated by the Yankees in the division round. In those four series the Twins went 2-12 against the Yankees so that is something they are going to have to overcome. However, this is a different Twins team as they are led by young stars such as Byron Buxton, Eddie Rosario, Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco, and Miguel Sano.  These guys don’t know anything about the Yankee mystique. Therefore, if the Yankees beat the Twins it will be on talent alone and nothing else. Now to the fun part of the article we will break down the matchup.

Yankees Offense vs Ervin Santana

            The easy answer to this is how Ervin Santana will attempt to get Judge out. Judge is the runaway winner of the Rookie of the Year with 52 homeruns. With the short porch in right field you need to keep the ball in on him and not let him get his arms extended. And if you go you need to go hard in and jam him. If you stay away it has to be off the plate. A good example of this is Ervin Santana’s slider which is really good. He is vulnerable to breaking pitches if you keep them down.  This is not a “murders row” lineup that Twins fans are used to seeing in New York. The two guys that destroyed the Twins in the three game sweep in New York were Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner. Those two guys got on base almost every time and stole 2^nd almost every time. So the key for Ervin Santana is to go hard in and down and away on Judge and find a way to keep Ellsbury and Gardner off the bases. They have complimentary guys like Gary Sanchez, Greg Bird, Didi Gregorius, Todd Frazier, and Matt Holiday. Not to discount those players but if you shut down Judge, Gardner, and Ellsbury you have a good chance to keep them to 3 runs or less.

Twins Offense vs. Luis Severino

The Twins offense will have their hands full with Luis Severino, who finished the season with an era of 2.93. The Twins faced him once this year and were very patient at the plate, forcing him to throw over 40 pitches in one inning and leave the game after the 3^rd inning. Despite the fact that Severino only lasted three innings he is an ace. I don’t expect Miguel Sano to start so it is import for guys like Joe Mauer and crew to show patience at the plate. Severino is only 23 years old so he could face some nerves. It is pivotal for the Twins to not help him out by swinging at pitches outside the strike zone. He has dominant stuff when he is on so another big thing is try to get him early. If he is given the opportunity to get into a rhythm he could tough to hit. Another key is when you have him on the ropes to take advantage. When you get guys on base you need to drive them in or he will settle down.

Twins bullpen vs Yankees bullpen

This is the battle that will determine the game as the Yankees bullpen is stacked with Tommy Kahnle, David Robertson, Dellin Betances, and closer Aroldis Chapman. The Yankee bullpen is so dominant that you almost have to get a lead after 5 innings or you get Kahnle in the 6^th, Robertson in 7^th, Betances in the 8^th and Chapman in the 9^th. Betances and Chapman throw over 100 miles an hour which makes them hard to hit. Betances can sometimes be a bit wild and the Twins need to take advantage of that. You have to expect to see Chapman in the 8^th inning if it is a close game. On the Twins side you have Trevor Hildenberger, Taylor Rogers, and Matt Belisle. The Twins are counting on Ervin Santana to get them through seven innings and turn it over to Hildenberger and Belisle. The Yankees have their greatest advantage in their bullpen so the Twins need to get off to a quick start.

            At the end of the day this feels like a close game as both starting pitchers look like they won’t give up many runs. The key for the Twins is to get ahead early and make the Yankees play catchup all day long. If the Twins are trailing going into the 6^th inning it could be a rough evening. This is going to be a challenging game, but I like the Twins to get off to a quick start and hang on for the victory.  Final Score: Twins 3, Yankees 2