Yankees vs. Twins Odds
| Yankees Odds | -140 |
| Twins Odds | +120 |
| Over/Under | 8.5 |
| Time | 7:40 p.m. ET |
| TV | MLB.TV |
| Odds via BetMGM. Get up-to-the-minute MLB odds here. | |
The New York Yankees are set to square off against the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday, which will kick off a three-game set.
The Yankees have been a well-oiled machine, entering this game with the best record in the majors. On top of that, they've won eight of their last 10 games.
However, the same cannot be said for the Twins. They're still leading the AL Central, but have a pair of starters on the shelf and lost six of their last 10 outings. Pitching will be a question mark once again for Minnesota, as it has yet to announce a starter at the time of writing, but all indications point to this being a bullpen game opened by Cole Sands.
His conterpart has left no questions with his performance, though. Jameson Taillon, a 30-year-old right-hander, appears to be in the midst of a career year, but the opponent's lineup cannot be overlooked.
So, will New York continue its hot streak or can Minnesota put the pieces together and come out with a victory? Let's break down this matchup.
New York Yankees
Sands, who will likely get the ball , made his first career start last week against Detroit in a doubleheader. However, it didn't go as planned. A scuffling Detroit lineup tagged him for four runs on five hits. Sands also struggled mightily with his commands, walking four batters in the outing.
While the Twins would ideally want to get as much length as possible out of Sands, it might not be in the cards. The Yankees, who have heated up of late, are no longer a two-man band. American League MVP candidate Aaron Judge and Gleybar Torres were the ones leading the charge for a while, but guys getting healthy and positive regression have made the league's best stronger.
Giancarlo Stanton was recently activated off the disabled list. He's a welcome addition to the lineup, joining Judge and Torres as the only three Yankees with average exit velocities more than 92 mph and a hard-hit rate clearing 48 percent. New York has gotten contributions from other veterans like DJ LeMathieu and Josh Donaldson as well. They're been hitting the ball much better of late and hold above-average xwOBA's.
If the Yankees get to Sands like expected, the Twins don't have quality long-relief options. So, having to turn to guys like Tyler Duffey, Griffin Jax and Yennier Cano might not put out the fire.
Minnesota Twins
Jameson Taillon has been a pivotal piece to the Yankees' success and showed just how dominant he could be in his last outing. Taillon spun eight innings of one-run ball against the Angels and was perfect into the seventh inning.
He's using his entire arsenal with impeccable command to create soft contact consistently. Taillon will enter this start in the top one percent in walk rate and the top ten percent in chase rate. His arsenal of fastballs coupled with a sharp curveball and change-up have all been utilized effectively. His command forces hitters to hit his pitch whether it is in the strike zone or not.
It's clear Taillon's approach is to make good pitches and get outs no matter how they come, as his stuff is still solid, but the strikeouts have dropped four percent from last season.
Minnesota's lineup does have plenty of guys who could pose a threat, but they each have their holes. Out of the five hitters with above-average exit velocities and hard-hit rates, four of them have strikeout rates over 25 percent. If Taillon can maintain his command, he should give the Twins fits for most of the night.
Yankees-Twins Pick
The injuries to Minnesota's rotation have put it between a rock and a hard place for the opener. The club's long-relief options are thin and can't afford many mistakes facing this lineup.
As for the Twins, they will need to be highly disciplined in their approach since Taillon will force them into bad counts and swinging at bad pitches.
However, given the tendencies of this lineup, he might even get a few more swings and misses than usual. Regardless, Taillon should hold them in the yard and off the bases, while his teammates give him plenty of early support.
Pick: New York ML (-140)
