The New York Yankees march into Minnesota Monday night with the hopes winning their ALDS matchup in a three-game sweep. The Minnesota Twins have looked like anything but a 100-win team, something they accomplished for the second time in franchise history in 2019. As a result, they are one loss away from division series elimination and extending their record-long postseason losing streak. Oddsmakers like Come On are making them underdogs.
Yankees Looking For History To Repeat Itself
The Yankees role in that losing streak has been well documented. They have been responsible for 12 of the Twins 15 straight losses, and they eliminated the Twins in 2004, 2009, 2010, and 2017. They look to do more of the same and add 2019 to that list.
Luis Severino will take the mound for the Yankees in Game Three. Severino suffered through an injury plagued 2019 season. He returned in time to make three starts and raise his pitch count to be ready for the postseason.
“I think I came back at the right time to help my team,” said Severino.
Severino did look healthy and dominant in those games. He pitched to a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings pitched. In those 12 innings, he struck out 17 batters and had a WHIP of 1.00 while allowing zero home runs.
Severino has tremendous talent, but he has had his fair share of bad outings in the postseason that outweigh his good ones. His most infamous one came against the Twins in the 2017 AL Wild Card game. In that start, he only recorded one out and allowed three earned runs to score.
Across 23 innings pitched in the postseason for his career, Severino has a 6.26 ERA. That being said, Severino does not let outings like that linger with him.
“For me I don’t look at past situations,” said Severino. “I’m a guy that if I have a bad game, I do my best to get better, and do a better job.”
Severino takes the mound looking to punch the Yankees ticket past the Twins in the division series once again and rewrite his own narrative as a postseason pitcher
Twins Looking To Survive
The brand name of the New York Yankees comes with a daunting connotation for opponents, but Twins manager Rocco Baldelli did not let that phase him. He has insisted that the Twins troubled postseason history meant nothing to their team, who were not the ones who lost the many previous series. Even after getting outscored 18-6 in two games, he remains optimistic.
“One thing I feel good about is that our guys know we can turn it around,” said Baldelli. “Our guys simply carry on with their routine, with the way they show up to the field, with everything they do.”
Baldelli knows his team is good, and he knows they have what it takes to turn the series around. He feels that the only way to accomplish that is for his team to remain true to themselves.
“I don’t think becoming reactionary in any way, staff wise or roster wise, is going to help us get to where we want to be,” said Baldelli. “I think relying on who we are is going to get us where we want to be.”
Minnesota sends Jake Odorizzi to the mound to keep their season alive and end their historic franchise losing streak. Oddorizi was an All-Star in 2019 while pitching to a 3.51 ERA in 159 innings pitched. He recorded a career-high 178 strikeouts and a career-best 3.36 K/BB rate. In what will be the 29-year-old-Odorizzi’s first postseason start, he looks to extend the division series to a fourth game and prevent elimination for his team.
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
