New York @ Minnesota preview
Target Field
Last Meeting ( Oct 6, 2010 ) NY Yankees 6, Minnesota 4
Andy Pettitte isn't the pitcher he was in his prime, but no one has more experience when it comes to the playoffs.
That's not good news for the Minnesota Twins, who will try to even up the American League Division Series with a win in Game 2 tonight after the Yankees took Wednesday’s opener 6-4.
The Twins will have to get to Pettitte to accomplish that. Considering how often the 38-year-old left-hander has taken the mound in the playoffs, that won't be easy.
Petttite is making his 41st postseason start, the most in baseball history. He also has more wins (18) and innings pitched (249) than any pitcher in the history of the game to go along with only nine losses.
So even though Pettitte has made only three starts in the last two months because of a groin injury, his experience of pitching in big games will certainly be an advantage.
Pettitte was out from July 18 until Sept. 19 with the injury. His numbers weren't particularly good when he returned - 10 earned runs and 22 hits in 13 1/3 innings - but he got his work in and appears to have worked past the injury.
Carl Pavano led the Twins in victories, which is a good thing since Minnesota can't afford to go into New York down 2-0 in the best-of-5 series.
The veteran right-hander has been the anchor of the Twins' pitching staff all season. A former Yankee, Pavano pitched 221 innings with seven complete games and two shutouts. He walked only 34 batters and showed he isn't afraid to go after hitters, which will be a key against the powerful Yankees lineup.
No could blame the Twins and their fans for thinking they've seen this movie before - or three times to be exact. Minnesota has lost to New York in this round of the playoffs in 2003, 2004 and 2009.
There was good reason to believe this postseason would be different. The Twins were 53-28 in their first season at Target Field, the best home record in the AL. There was even more reason to be optimistic once Minnesota built an early 3-0 lead in Game 1 off New York ace CC Sabathia, but the Yankees chased Francisco Liriano with a four-run sixth.
The Twins tied the game in the bottom of the inning, but Mark Teixeira's two-run homer off Jesse Crain in the seventh put the Yankees ahead for good.
Mariano Rivera picked up his 40th postseason save by recording the final four outs.
New York's clutch hitting and yet another playoff success by Rivera put all the pressure in this series on the Twins.