ALDS Game 1: Twins @ Yankees

Time: 6:07 Central. Vegas Line: -190 NYY / MIN +170

Weather: 59° at first pitch, no rain

Opponent’s excellent SB site: Pinstripe Alley

TV: MLB Network. Radio: Won’t mention Phil Cuzzi once, I’m sure

Rocco Baldelli pre-game quotes (not really):

My name is Rocco, and I’m living the full modern life

First year managing, gonna end Twins’ playoff strife

Yankee Stadium can make some guys intimidated

Well with the Rays and BoSox I have been inoculated

Your young Judge’s fame has certainly been fairly earned

But now the Cruz is here to tell you that “this court’s adjourned”

Maybe lots of Hall-Of-Famers wore a Yankees hat

To us that history is old news just like Pizza Rat

Aaron Boone:

Dude, please, you talk big noise

We’ll play with you like a cat does toys

Ooh, you got a Bomba Squad

Half of them are “strained quad”

And half your baseball titles came from Hrbek’s tag fraud

While you’re busy griping about how playoff losses fester

We’ll be whomping pitchers all the way to Rochester

Yeah, we’re the Yankees, we make no apologies

Doubt our dominance, check the chronology

Don’t think you’ll end that playoff losing streak soon, ‘cause there’s one guy here who’s done it and that’s Aaron (bleeping) Boone

José Berríos’s post-July inconsistency has been well-documented on this site, although his last four starts have a much better 3.08 ERA.

Do-Hyong Park has a look at Yankees starter James Paxton in this FAQ (along with other interesting stuff). Seems that Paxton has a little Brad Radke in him, and wears a first-inning ERA of 8.68 in 2019 (3.82 overall). Aroldis Chapman, Adam Ottavino, and Zack Britton are very difficult guys to score against, so hopefully the Twins can get off to a good start.