Twins at Yankees
Fresh off a dramatic come-from-behind victory, the New York Yankees continue their nine-game homestand with a visit from the Minnesota Twins on Friday night. It's the second straight weekend series against baseball's worst team for the Yankees, who won three out of four at Minnesota before earning a two-game split versus Colorado.
Starlin Castro's walk-off homer in the ninth inning capped Wednesday's 9-8 victory for New York, which trailed by four runs with three innings to play. "It's getting that time of year where we need to start putting some good baseball together," said Yankees third baseman Chase Headley, who belted a grand slam in the victory. "It seems like every time we've put a good stretch together, we've kind of backed that up with three or four losses in a row." The Twins' bid for a fourth straight victory and three-game sweep of Philadelphia came up short in a 7-3 loss Thursday, but they have shown life at the plate with 36 runs scored in the past six games. New York's Masahiro Tanaka, who has won all three career starts versus Minnesota, will oppose left-hander Tommy Milone in the series opener.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), YES (New York)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Twins LH Tommy Milone (0-1, 5.79 ERA) vs. Yankees RH Masahiro Tanaka (4-2, 2.91)
Milone was demoted to Triple-A Rochester after a rocky start to the season in which he failed to make it through five innings in three of his four starts and surrendered five homers in 23 1/3 frames. The 29-year-old Californian turned things around in the minors, posting a 4-0 record with a 1.66 ERA in seven starts while striking out 41 walking just four in 48 2/3 innings. Milone has made three career starts versus New York, logging an 0-1 mark and 2.75 ERA.
Tanaka halted a three-start winless drought with a stellar performance against the Twins on June 17, giving up one run on seven hits over eight innings to boost his career mark against Minnesota to 3-0 with a 1.96 ERA. Tanaka has won only once and owns a 4.60 ERA in seven starts at Yankee Stadium, where he has surrendered all eight of his home runs. Eduardo Escobar has had his share of success against the Tanaka, going 5-for-10 with a double and one RBI.
WALK-OFFS
1. Escobar is 10-for-21 during a six-game hitting streak, with at least one RBI and one run scored in each of the contests.
2. Yankees RF Carlos Beltran is 9-for-21 with three homers in his last five contests, including two blasts and a pair of three-hit games versus Minnesota.
3. Twins 3B Trevor Plouffe exited Thursday's game due to a mild groin strain and is listed as day-to-day.