Series Preview: Twins at Yankees

The Twins continue their east coast team bender in New York for a three game series with those Yankees. If you don’t have short term memory loss, you’ll note that the Twins pretty much just played the Yankees. That series was in Minnesota and they lost it but were not swept, so that’s great. We’re all about moral victories here.

We actually won the series with Philly, but The Yankees, meanwhile, have lost their 3 game series against the Rockies, salvaging the last game Wednesday.

So here’s where I basically copy-paste what I wrote in the last series preview. Because, if you already wrote code something that works, why not use it?

What have they done right?

CC Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka have been great, as they've combined for 5.4 bWAR on the year. Carlos Beltran is hitting the screws off the ball with 19 homers. They have a ridiculously good bullpen that strikes everyone out. Aroldis Chapman - 13.5 K/9, Dellin Betances - 16.8, Andrew Miller - 16.7. (Editor’s note: Miller and Chapman’s went up, somehow)

The Twins would be happy with half of those K/9 numbers.

What have they done not right?

Outside of Sabathia, Tanaka, and the bullpen, the Yankees starters haven't been very good. All of them have ERA > 5 (was 4), bringing their team ERA rank down to 18th (4.35).

The Yankees lineup is noticeably old, and doesn't feature any other standouts aside from Beltran. Jacoby Ellsbury has just been okay (.745 OPS, was .775 in last series), and everyone else is hovering around .700 for OPS. They rank 22nd in runs scored.

The Match ups: (This time we missed Sabathia)

Game 1

Tonight, 6:05 PM CDT

Tommy Milone (Mommy Tilone) vs Masahiro Tanaka

Game 2

Saturday, June 25th, 12:05 PM CDT

Ervin Santana vs Michael Pineda

Game 3

Sunday, June 26th, 12:05 PM CDT

Tyler Duffey vs Nathan Eovaldi

Prediction: a;lsjkdf.