New York Yankees AL Division Series preview vs Twins
Comparing the Yankees pitching to the Twins
The Yankees biggest weakness the past several seasons has been their starting pitching and this season hasn’t been any different. Severino was out until mid-September. Additionally, C.C. Sabathia missed time with various injuries of his own every now and then. The rest of the New York Yankees starters were inconsistent at best. It meant the team’s hitters had to step up in a big way.
Yankees Probable Starters:
Game 1: James Paxton-2019 Stats: 15-6, 3.82 ERA, 29 Starts, 150.2 IP, 8.2 H/9, 1.28 WHIP
Game 2: Luis Severino-2019 Stats: 1-1, 1.50 ERA, 3 Starts, 12 IP, 4.5 H/9, 1.00 WHIP
Game 3: Masahiro Tanaka-2019 Stats: 11-9, 4.45 ERA, 31 Starts, 182 IP, 9.2 H/9, 1.24 WHIP
Game 4: J.A. Happ-2019 Stats: 12-8, 4.91 ERA, 30 Starts, 161.1 IP, 8.9 H9, 1.295 WHIP
Game 5: James Paxton or Luis Severino
Paxton has been great down the stretch, for that reason he will be the go-to guy for the Bronx Bombers in Game 1. Game 2 will likely be Severino, who in three starts this season has let up only two runs and six hits. Since he is still not 100 percent, Sevy may only go between four and six innings.
There is a chance Yankees skipper Aaron Boone decides to go with Severino for game one and game five if necessary. Game four could also potentially be a bullpen game for the Yankees depending on how much Happ is used, if at all, and also depending on how fresh the bullpen is.
The Yankees have gone with a bullpen game at least once per rotation this season and it has been rather consistent, but the playoffs are a different beast. Don’t expect to see a starter for game four until a little later on.
Twins Probable Starters:
Game 1: Jose Berrios-2019 Stats: 14-8, 3.68 ERA, 32 Starts, 200.1 IP, 8.7 H/9, 1.22 WHIP
Game 2: Jake Odorizzi-2019 Stats: 15-7, 3.51 ERA, 30 Starts, 159.0 IP, 7.9 H/9, 1.208 WHIP
Game 3: Opener with Kyle Gibson-2019 Stats: 13-7,4.84 ERA, 29 Starts, 34 Appearances, 160.0 IP, 9.8 H/9, 1.44 WHIP
Game 4: Opener with Martin Perez-2019 Stats: 10-7, 5.12 ERA, 29 Starts, 32 Appearances, 165.1 IP, 10.0 H/9, 1.518 WHIP
Game 5: Jose Berrios or Jake Odorizzi
Like the Yankees the Twins have gone with bullpen games quite a bit down the stretch and in games three and four they will likely be doing just that. Gibson and Perez have made several appearances out of the bullpen in the past month and they will likely be used to start bullpen games.
On the other hand, Berrios and Odorizzi have been great this season with a combined 29-15 record and ERA of 3.60. However, the Yankees have played rather well against Odorizzi this season in the two games they’ve gone up against him.
Odorizzi is 1-1 against the Yankees this season letting up nine earned runs and 12 hits in 10 innings pitched. Berrios has yet to face the Yankees in 2019.