Minnesota @ New York preview
Yankee Stadium
Last Meeting ( Aug 21, 2011 ) NY Yankees 3, Minnesota 0
THE STORY: Despite losing two of three in Toronto to conclude a 10-game road trip with a 4-6 record, the New York Yankees hold a fairly comfortable 4 1/2-game lead over the Boston Red Sox atop the AL East with 11 games to play. The last 10 contests are against division rivals Tampa Bay and Boston, but first the Yankees will host a makeup game against the reeling Minnesota Twins on Monday afternoon. The Twins limp into Yankee Stadium having lost eight straight and 13 of 14. New York closer Mariano Rivera needs one save to become baseball’s career leader.
TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, FSNO, YES
PITCHING MATCHUP: Twins LH Scott Diamond (1-4, 3.94 ERA) vs. Yankees RH A.J. Burnett (10-11, 5.20 ERA).
Diamond will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak as he makes his sixth career start. He is coming off his best outing, allowing two runs (one earned) in six innings at Detroit last time out. Opponents are batting .297 against Diamond, who has 17 strikeouts and 12 walks in 29 2/3 innings. The Twins have scored a total of five runs in his four defeats.
Burnett is moving up a day to take the start of Phil Hughes (back spasms). The struggling veteran is coming off his best outing in weeks, striking out a season-high 11 in Tuesday's 3-2 victory at Seattle. It marked only the second win in 13 starts for Burnett, who has failed to pitch more than six innings in his last eight outings. He was battered by the Twins for seven runs in 1 2/3 innings on Aug. 20.
ABOUT THE TWINS (59-92): When a team is mired in a skid like that of Minnesota, it usually adopts an all-hands-on-deck mentality. The problem for the Twins is that there are not enough hands left. Minnesota already is without three starters for the remainder of the year, including Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, the 2009 and 2006 AL MVPs, respectively. Jason Kubel could be joining them as he continues to be struggle with a recurring foot injury. At least they are getting a chance to see their prospects play. Brian Dinkelman is 7-for-9 in his last two games and Chris Parmelee went 6-for-12 in a three-game series versus Cleveland.
ABOUT THE YANKEES (91-60): New York had a quiet end to its lengthy road trip, managing only five hits – three by Eduardo Nunez – in Sunday’s 3-0 loss at Toronto. It marked only the eighth time that the Yankees have been shut out this season. Much of the focus will be on Rivera, who tied Trevor Hoffman for first place on the all-time saves list with his 601st Saturday. He has converted his last 13 saves and has 42 on the season. Alex Rodriguez also is up against a major milestone – he needs one home run for career No. 630 to tie Ken Griffey Jr. for fifth place on baseball’s career list.
FINAL PITCH: The Twins have lost 90 games for the first time since 2000. It’s the 10th time in franchise history they have reached that barrier, which includes four straight seasons from 1997-2000.