MLB Baseball
2012-04-16 - Minnesota Twins at New York Yankees
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
United States: Major League Baseball
Monday 16 April 2012 - First Pitch 7:05pm ET
12:05am (British Standard Time)
Preview
The New York Yankees (5-4) completed their second series of the win as they beat the LA Angels last night, and now they take on the Minnesota Twins (2-7), a team that has not made a great start to the new season and one that has struggled in the Bronx over the last ten years.
Derek Jeter and the famous New York batting line up has not found it too difficult to put up the runs in the early part of the season, and they have scored at least 5 runs in 7 of their first 9 games this season.
It is likely that they will need that run support as they send Freddy Garcia back to the mound for his second start of the season. Garcia gave up 4 runs in just under 5 innings pitched in a 5-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles but he was not involved in the decision.
He has enjoyed pitching at Yankee Stadium, and he finished 5-0 in his last 6 regular season starts with a 3.86 ERA, although he was a loser when pitching against the Detroit Tigers in the post-season. Garcia has a 10-7 record against the Minnesota Twins from 22 career starts against them and he has a 4.04 ERA in those games.
The Minnesota Twins will counter by sending former Yankee, Carl Pavano, to the mound. Pavano is not likely to get a happy welcome from the home fans as he pitches here for the first time since 2009 after an injury hit spell as a Yankee.
Pavano has not had a good start to the season as he goes to the mound for his third start. He has a 0-1 record with a 5.93 ERA and he gave up 5 runs in just under 7 innings pitched in his last start as the Twins beat the LA Angels 6-5 at home.
He has pitched against the Yankees twice as a Minnesota player, both of those in the post-season and he took the loss in both games. He gave up 4 runs from 6 innings when Pavano last saw the Yankees in October 2010.
Head to Head
The Yankees are 38-13 against the Minnesota Twins in the last 51 games in New York.
New York finished 6-2 in the season series last season, going 3-1 in games taking place here.
Prediction
I am going to back the New York Yankees to continue their hot form that has seen them take 5 of their last 6 games, especially considering their bats have been as hot as they have been all season.
The line up has always had a lot of depth in it and they are getting solid production from all over and should provide enough run support for Freddy Garcia to pick up the win, while also getting by with a bit of room to spare.
They have dominated the Twins here in New York and I think the Yankees are worth taking on the run line against a Minnesota team that totalled just 6 runs in 3 games against the Texas Rangers and one that has only offered more than 3 runs in a single game in 2 of their opening 9 games of 2012.
The Pick :
New York Yankees 6-3 Minnesota Twins
