Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins 6/24

The New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins begin a three-game set this weekend in the Bronx with the first game coming tonight. Now if you all thought you heard a collective “sigh” and an eye roll or two it was probably all the Twins fans checking their schedule and seeing the Yankees inside Yankee Stadium this weekend. If you checked in with the blog yesterday you saw that the Yankees have absolutely owned the Twins in the past 20 years only losing one season series in that time and tying a couple others. New York already has three wins to Minnesota’s one and can clinch the series victory tonight with a win. In the game the Yankees will send Masahiro Tanaka to the mound on extra rest looking for that win while the Twins will counter with Tommy Milone.

Tanaka faced the Minnesota Twins in his last start and was very effective against the club hurling eight innings while allowing just one run on seven hits. Tanaka earned the win, his first since May 27^th, and will look for his second consecutive win tonight in the Bronx.

Milone is replacing Pat Dean in the rotation this turn since the Yankees offense had their way with Dean in his last start. Milone has been in Triple-A and had posted a 4-0 record with a 1.66 ERA in seven starts while striking out 41 and allowing just four walks.

The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV. We have heard all season how much better Tanaka is on extra rest as opposed to a normal four days rest so with the extra rest heading into this start Tanaka has to be sharp. Facing off with Minnesota this is one of those games and series that the team absolutely must take. Make it happen boys. Go Yankees!

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

Here we are again as we conclude another long week with another weekend that’s far too short and jammed packed with Major League Baseball. The New York Yankees kick off their weekend’s worth of games with the second of a four-game set with the Minnesota Twins on the road. Tonight the Yankees send their ace and stopper to the mound with an extra day of rest in Masahiro Tanaka as he looks to mow down and keep down the Twins offense. Opposing Tanaka for the home team tonight will be the LHP Pat Dean for the Twins. The game will be played at 8:10 pm ET inside Target Field and can be seen on WPIX Channel 11 and MLB TV.

The Yankees won’t be out on the road forever so click the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog and reserve your seats now for when the team does come back to Yankee Stadium before the good seats are all gone. You can now also show up to the Cathedral in the Bronx in style by snagging one of our Jacoby Ellsbury milk carton shirts by clicking the TGP T-Shirts link at the top of the blog as well. Until then though you can join us rooting from afar by giving us a follow on Twitter, @GreedyStripes, and by liking us on Facebook.

Tanaka is ready and so is the Yankees offense so let’s get to it. Go Yankees!

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!