Minnesota Twins at New York Yankees 8/19/21 - MLB Picks & Predictions

The Minnesota Twins will open a road series against the red-hot New York Yankees in the middle August series in the Bronx. The Twins have had a disappointing season and are in the worst division in baseball, are 17 games back at 53-67, and will not be making a run at the postseason despite being picked to finish second in the AL Central preseason. The Yankees are arguably the hottest team in the league, they’ve won seven of their last ten games and have now moved into the Wild Card spot at 68-52 on the year. 

The Yankees had arguably the biggest trade deadline in the MLB adding Anthony Rizzo and Joey Gallo to an already stacked team. The offense had struggled to the deadline and are 20th in scoring offense averaging 4.23 runs per contest but have scored more runs since the deadline, and been a much better team at the plate. Right fielder Aaron Judge has continued to produce leading the team with 26 homeruns and 63 RBIs, while hitting .286 as a team.

Jameson Taillon will get the ball for the Yankees, he’s been solid this season going 7-4 with a 3.89 ERA in 118 innings of work. Tallion is in his fifth year in the big leagues and appears to have bounced back from an injury in 2019, his career ERA is 3.71 but his strikeouts are up to 8.8K/9. The 29-year-old righty is coming off a solid start against the White Sox allowing three runs on seven hits in 5 innings, as the Yankees won 7-5 in extra innings.

Minnesota, despite their struggles to win games, has actually had a solid offensive unit this season hitting .244 as a unit and scoring 4.60 runs per game, both of which rank 12th in the league. They traded power-hitting DH Nelson Cruz at the deadline, and shortstop Jorge Polanco has led the way in his absence hitting .271 with 21 homeruns and 67 RBIs, all three of which lead the team.

The Twins struggles this season have stemmed from the pitching rotation that comes in posting a 4.85 team ERA, ranking 26th in the MLB. The rumored starter is right-hander John Gant, he’s been a solid fringe starter going 4-6 with a 3.49 ERA in 32 appearances, most of which came with the Cardinals before being traded at the deadline. Gant has allowed four runs in 8.2 innings of work since joining Minnesota and has yet to make a start.