Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Minnesota Twins 6/17

The New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins are back at it again for the second time in their four-game set these two teams will play inside Target Field this weekend. Four games means four great pitching matchups and today’s contest does not disappoint, especially if you’re a Yankees fan. Today the Yankees will send Masahiro Tanaka to the mound looking to be the ace, the stud and the stopper for the club while the Twins counter with Pat Dean.

Tanaka has had a tale of two seasons type year thus far with extra attention being brought to his starts that involve extra rest vs. his starts that involve regular rest. Tanaka has been much better on five days rest than he has been on four days rest and will get an extra night of rest before tonight’s start in Minnesota. On four days rest Tanaka’s ERA is 3.44 while his ERA on five days rest is 2.92.

Dean heads into this start fresh off a good outing against the Boston Red Sox last time out. In that start Dean, a left-handed pitcher, limited the Red Sox offense to just one run on three hits in 6.1 innings of work. Dean did walk four in the contest though but the Red Sox offense is much better than the Yankees offense this season, especially against LHP, which could make for a long night for the Yankees bats.

The game will be played at 8:10 pm ET inside Target Field and can be seen on WPIX Channel 11 and MLB TV. I bring up the pitching matchups specifically because, at least on paper, these are two of the lowest scoring and worst offenses in all of the American League squaring off tonight head-to-head. Will the bats wake up or will the pitching pad their stats tonight in Minnesota? Stay tuned and Go Yankees!