New York @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 16, 2016 ) NY Yankees 4, Minnesota 1

Visiting the worst team in the American League provided the perfect tonic for the New York Yankees, who snapped a four-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday in the opener of their four-game set. New York looks to make it two in a row over the Twins when it sends Masahiro Tanaka to the mound on Friday.

Tanaka has won both career starts against Minnesota, logging a 2.40 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 15 innings. New York's Didi Gregorius clubbed a tiebreaking three-run homer Thursday and is 6-for-11 with a pair of blasts and seven RBIs in his last three games. Minnesota has dropped three straight contests and six of its last eight to tie Atlanta for the worst record in the majors at 20-46. Byung Ho Park and Byron Buxton continue to flail away in the clutch for the Twins, combining to go 7-for-73 with runners in scoring position.

TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, WPIX (New York), FSN North (Minnesota)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Masahiro Tanaka (3-2, 3.08 ERA) vs. Twins LH Pat Dean (1-2, 4.17)

Tanaka was victimized by the long ball in a loss to Detroit on Saturday, allowing a pair of blasts and five runs over 6 1/3 innings to remain winless in his last three starts. He had to settle for a no-decision versus the Los Angeles Angels on June 6 despite working seven frames of two-run ball and was a hard-luck loser at Toronto with one unearned run allowed in six innings. Tanaka has been outstanding on the road this season, posting a 2-1 record and 1.36 ERA in six starts.

Dean is coming off one of the best performances of his brief major-league career, limiting Boston's heavy-hitting lineup to one run and three hits over 6 1/3 innings, although he did walk four batters. He lasted only 4 1/3 frames in his previous turn and was knocked around for four runs and seven hits by Miami in another no-decision. He is winless in four appearances (three starts) at home but is holding opponents to a .236 batting average.

WALK-OFFS

1. Twins LHP Fernando Abad has allowed 10-of-27 inherited runners to score.

2. Yankees 3B Chase Headley has hit safely in five straight games.

3. Minnesota closer Glen Perkins will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, the team announced Thursday.

PREDICTION: Yankees 5, Twins 2