First Pitch: 12:05pm CDT
TV: FS-N
Radio: Twins Radio Network
Know Thine Enemy: Pinstripe Alley
Mitre has been the benefactor of a meager 7% line drive rate in his role with the Yankees this season, as hitters are batting just .202 off him with a ridiculous .198 BABIP. That's sick.
Having said that, there isn't too much that's special about Mitre, meaning there's no reason the Twins shouldn't be able to help him regress to the mean this afternoon. He doesn't strike anybody out, can run into control issues and pitches to contact. And he's been a bit more hittable the last two weeks.
Blackburn's looked a bit more like himself his last two starts, where he's tossed a combined 16 innings while allowing just three runs. It's come at just the right time, because the guy had a very rough month of April.
All Nick can do today is not beat himself. He probably won't be striking many guys out (he's only struck out hitters in three of his six starts), so he needs to keep rolling with the control he's had the last two times out. Hopefully his breaking balls are working today, he can get a bunch of ground balls and he can be the leader the Twins need him to be today.