New York @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 1, 2014 ) Minnesota 7, NY Yankees 2

Masahiro Tanaka has justified the New York Yankees' decision to lavish a $155 million contract on him and will go for his major league-best 12th win Thursday in the opener of a four-game series at the Minnesota Twins. More importantly for the Yankees, they will need the Japanese standout to halt a season-worst five-game skid that has dropped them below .500 for the first time since April 11. New York has lost nine of 11 as it kicks off an 11-game road trip.

The Yankees have scored three runs or fewer seven times during their 2-9 swoon, but manager Joe Girardi insisted he still believes the team will turn things around. "We just need to play better," Girardi told reporters. "You can look at almost every phase and say we need to play better and we have to find a way to get it done." Minnesota, mired in a tailspin of its own with seven losses in its last nine games, sends ex-Yankee Phil Hughes to the mound to oppose Tanaka.

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

PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Masahiro Tanaka (11-3, 2.10 ERA) vs. Twins RH Phil Hughes (8-4, 3.58)

Tanaka lost his second straight start when he surrendered a ninth-inning home run in a 2-1 loss to Boston on Saturday. The back-to-back defeats have come against teams that Tanaka has already faced, which could be a positive omen for the Twins. Tanaka, who has permitted two runs or fewer in six of his past seven outings, struck out nine and limited Minnesota to an unearned run over eight innings in a 3-1 win May 31.

Hughes never lived up to the hype expected of a first-round pick despite posting 18- and 16-win seasons with the Yankees. The 28-year-old Californian, in his first season with Minnesota, has alternated wins and losses over his last six turns - a stretch that began when he gave up two runs in eight innings to beat the Yankees on June 1. Hughes has surrendered five runs in three of his last five starts.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Twins placed 1B Joe Mauer, a three-time batting champion, on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday with a strained oblique.

2. Since 1901, the Yankees have never won a division title when sitting at .500 or below on July 2.

3. Twins OF/1B Chris Parmelee is 20-for-41 during a 12-game hitting streak.

PREDICTION: Yankees 5, Twins 1