Twins at Yankees
Minnesota Twins right-hander Lance Lynn won at least 11 games in each of his first five full seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, but he is still seeking his first victory in the American League. Lynn faces a daunting task trying to end that drought when he attempts to prevent a three-game sweep in Wednesday night's series finale versus the red-hot New York Yankees.
Gary Sanchez belted a pair of homers and Didi Gregorius and Aaron Judge added two-run shots for New York, which has outscored Minnesota 22-4 in the first two games and piled up 36 runs during its four-game winning streak. Gregorius (3-for-4) extended his hitting streak to eight games and became the first shortstop in baseball history with at least eight homers and 27 RBIs in his team's first 22 games. Minnesota fell to 0-5 on its seven-game road trip after Tuesday's 8-3 setback and its pitching staff has been bludgeoned for 48 runs during the slide. Eduardo Escobar was 3-for-3 with two doubles in the latest loss for the Twins, who fell to 14-48 at Yankee Stadium (postseason included) since the start of the 2002 season.
TV: 6:35 p.m. ET, FS North-Plus (Minnesota), YES (New York)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Twins RH Lance Lynn (0-1, 6.00 ERA) vs. Yankees RH Sonny Gray (1-1, 8.27)
Lynn surrendered five runs for the second time in three starts last time out against light-hitting Tampa Bay and continues to labor with his control, yielding as least four walks in each outing and 15 overall in as many innings. The 30-year-old was solid in his one home start, blanking World Series champion Houston over five innings. Giancarlo Stanton is 5-for-17 and Neil Walker 15-for-40 with three home runs against Lynn.
Gray followed up his lone win versus Baltimore on April 7 with back-to-back abbreviated outings, lasting three innings and giving up six runs at Boston on April 12 and escaping with a no-decision allowing yielding five runs in 3 1/3 innings against Toronto on Friday. He is 2-3 with a 5.14 ERA in five career starts against the Twins, all while he was with Oakland. Brian Dozier is 4-for-11 with a pair of home runs off Gray.
WALK-OFFS
1. Sanchez is only player in baseball history with nine multiple-homer games in his first 200 career contests.
2. Twins CF Byron Buxton was eligible to return from the disabled list Wednesday but will stay in Florida after fouling a ball off his foot.
3. New York starters own a 1.05 ERA over the past four games.