by Chuck Sommers
Friday, Aug 20, 2021
Game time: 1:05 p.m. ET
Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
Where to watch: FS1
Season-to-date (entering Friday)
Twins: 54-68 (4th place, AL Central)
Yankees: 70-52 (2nd place, AL East)
Recent form
Twins: 6-4 in last 10
Yankees: 8-2 in last 10, won seven straight
Projected lineup
Twins:
Max Kepler (L) RF
Jorge Polanco (S) 2B
Josh Donaldson (R) DH
Luis Arraez (L) 3B
Miguel Sano (R) 1B
Nick Gordon (L) CF
Ryan Jeffers (R) C
Jake Cave (L) LF
Andrelton Simmons (R) SS
Yankees:
Luke Voit (R) DH
Anthony Rizzo (L) 1B
Aaron Judge (R) CF
Joey Gallo (L) LF
Giancarlo Stanton (R) RF
Rougned Odor (L) 2B
Andrew Velazquez (S) SS
Kyle Higashioka (R) C
Tyler Wade (L) 3B
Probable starting pitchers: Kenta Maeda (MIN) vs. Gerrit Cole (NYY)
Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Yankees -235, Twins +190
BetMGM: Yankees -200, Twins +165
FanDuel: Yankees -235, Twins +194
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Twins - Yankees preview
The New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins will play the third matchup of their four-game series at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.
It’s taken some time, but the Yankees have found a groove well enough to put themselves back in contention for a run in October. The Bronx Bombers enter Friday on a seven-game winning streak after a 7-5 win in the series opener on Thursday.
The Yankees got an added boost with the return of Anthony Rizzo off the COVID list. While Rizzo’s been out, they’ve gotten timely offensive contributions from Luke Voit, who hit a two-run double on Thursday and is now in the leadoff spot as the designated hitter.
And in an attempt to keep their strong stretch going, the Yankees will turn to Gerrit Cole in Game 3. Cole went 5.2 innings and allowed only one earned run on Aug. 16, his first start since coming off the COVID list. Cole’s ERA is coming down toward 3.04, and the more he continues to pitch like this, the better the Yankees will be in a good position come playoff time.
The Yankees are five games back of the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East, and have pulled 1.5 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox in the division after sweeping them this week. They lead the Oakland Athletics by one game for the top AL Wild Card spot.
The Twins are playing for pride and have done well doing so. They’ve won their last four series, including taking two of three from the Cleveland Indians at home this week. That run may come to an end this weekend, but weirder things have happened.
Kenta Maeda is expected to start for Minnesota.
Betting trends
The Yankees are 10-10 as a favorite when Cole starts, with the under being 11-9.
New York is 18-26 (-18.4) in day games, with the under being another hefty number (27-16).
The over is 36-19 during Twins road games.
Prediction
While respectable what the Twins have done the last couple of weeks, including what they did against the Astros, but the Yankees are just on a roll right now. Cole should have no problem with this lineup.
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
