NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 13: Luis Severino #40 of the New York Yankees tries to pick off Kevin Kiermaier #39 of the Tampa Bay Rays at first base on April 13, 2017 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
The New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins will face off at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night for the American League Wild Card game, and here are some key things to know.
The game will begin at 8:09 pm EST and will air on ESPN. The Yankees finished the season 91-71 and second in the AL East. This is their first playoff appearance since 2015. The Bombers were 45-40 at the All-Star break and finished with a 21-8 surge.
The Twins, on the other hand, are back in the playoffs for the first time in seven years after losing 103 games in 2016. The winner will advance to the ALDS against the Cleveland Indians.
The Yankees and Twins have met six times this season. The Yankees won four out of those six games.
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New York eliminated the small-market Twins in the Division Series four times from 2003-10. Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge has set a rookie record this year with 52 home runs.
The Twins finished the season 81-77 and second in the AL Central. Minnesota’s Joe Mauer hit .305/.384/.417 this season.
Right-hander Earvin Santana (16-8, 3.28 ERA) will likely take the mound for the Twins, while Luis Severino (14-6, 2.98 ERA) — who has been on a hot streak lately — will start for the Yankees.
Severino, 23, has enjoyed a breakout season that saw him increase his strikeout rate to 29.4 percent, which ranked fifth among all starters in 2017. He cut his walk rate and nearly reached 200 innings for the first time in his career, and posted a 2.28 ERA in the second half.
According to several reports, Twins manager Paul Molitor hadn’t decided on whether third baseman Miguel Sano will play in the Wild Card game as of Monday afternoon. The slugger has been recovering from a stress reaction in his left shin.
The Yankees led the majors with 241 home runs in 2017.
NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 13: Luis Severino #40 of the New York Yankees tries to pick off Kevin Kiermaier #39 of the Tampa Bay Rays at first base on April 13, 2017 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
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