THE YANKEES - TWINS MATCHUP IS WORTH THE HYPE

Source: ESPN

There has been so much banter out there about this series against the Twins. And with the fire Minnesota has had after going 7-13 in their first 20 games to turn around and win the next 17, one could see why. Seeing them Tuesday night, as they wore down Carlos Rodon and came out swinging- yeah, Minnesota appears to be the real deal. And so The Yankees - Twins matchup is definitely worth the hype.

Source: The Athletic

"Entering the three-game series that begins Tuesday at Target Field, the Twins have won 17 of their last 20 games, keyed by a 12-game winning streak in which they beat up on the White Sox, Angels and Red Sox. And since then, they have won series against the Mariners and Blue Jays as well, looking poised to give the Yankees a formidable challenge this week," reported The New York Post.

With Aaron Judge finally getting hot and Giancarlo Stanton producing in the DH spot, the Yankees are certainly up for the challenge this three-game series brings. "After batting .174 with a .645 OPS through his first 23 games, Judge is batting .313 with a 1.147 OPS over his last 19 games," reported the Post.

And on the Twins side of the field you have Ryan Jeffers who has been unstoppable. “Jeffers has become one of the better adjustment-making hitters in the league,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He’s got a plan for pretty much everything, and he can execute the plan. He’s competing against off-speed and fastballs, up and down, inside and out. And rarely are you able to find a guy who can actually hit all of these different types of pitches,” reported The Athletic.

The Yankees have held their opponents at bay despite not having their ace, Gerrit Cole, on the hill. Starters have fared well and the bullpen has been a powerhouse. It will be telling if the Yankees pitchers can keep Jeffers, Max Kepler and Carlos Correa quiet over the next couple of games.

Source: MLB.com

"The Yankees' relief corps is again among the best in the sport, with the second-highest Win Probability Added and second-best ERA in the majors. The anchor is the most prominent holdover: Clay Holmes, the only qualified reliever yet to surrender an earned run in 2024," reported ESPN.

This series against Minnesota will definitely keep my attention. Honestly, the Twins have earned it. As the Post admirably said, "The Yankees no longer have a punching bag in red-hot Twins." From the look of things in game one of three at Target Field, it will be a great contest; one we may see again later in the fall. 

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

DON'T UNDERESTIMATE THE TWINS!

"There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent." -Lao Tzu

History is just that....history. I know we are all excited about postseason baseball. It's nice that we are finally division champs again. It's been a long time. It may be nice to face the very familiar Twins to start the postseason, but some people are too complacent. Confidence is good, but like ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, never underestimate your opponent.

The Yankees have a long successful history against the Twins....but that's all it is, history. It doesn't matter anymore. I've heard a lot of people talk about THESE stats:

2003 ALDS: Yankees win series 3-1
2004 ALDS: Yankees win series 3-1
2009 ALDS: Yankees win series 3-0
2010 ALDS: Yankees win series 3-0

2017 AL Wild Card Game: Yankees win eventually, but the Twins did jump out to an early 3-0 lead.
*The last time the Twins beat the Yankees in a postseason game was 15 years ago on October 5, 2004 and the Yankees have gone 10-0 against Minnesota in October since then.

Those are all nice historical facts, they are nice confidence builders. The Yankees have success against the Twins but they are a good team too. These aren't the same TWINKIES anymore. They hit home runs like the Yankees do, in fact hit one more than we did for the season. The Yankees and Twins match up on paper in many ways. Not only do they hit home runs, they have a good bullpen, they have the same concerns with their starting rotation as we do AND they are banged up just like we are.

This is going to be a battle of two very evenly matched teams, it's not going to be a walk in the park for either team. The Yankees won the regular season series with a 4-2 record and both teams hit a ton of home runs this season, so we shouldn't expect the ALDS to be any different. The Yankees will have to be strategic pitching against Eddie Rosario, Max Kepler, Nelson Cruz, Miguel Sano and Mitch Garver all of these guys hit over 30 home runs whereas the Yankees only had Gleyber Torres and Gary Sanchez hit more than 30.

The pitching is going to be key here. The Yankees have a strategy in mind for the first three games even if we don't know it yet. I wonder if the Twins rely more on an opener after Jose Berrios and Jake Odorizzi. The Yankees need to win games one and two at home, it takes off a little bit of the pressure. This will probably be a tighter series than some think it will be. Tight games will be decided by pitching mistakes, and both teams know how to hit dingers. The Yankees have been hurt this season by home run mistakes, so hopefully we don't make many of them and are able to overcome them.

The start of the postseason isn't going to be easy for the Yankees just because we have a consistent record against the Twins in the past. The Twins are hungry, just like we are. Remember, they are ready to "slay the dragon" so we have to show them what happens when they poke this dragon. We have to be hungrier and live in the present, not the past.

If we are hungrier and play better baseball, then we win. Simple as that. Stay hungry, Yankees.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj