FAMILIAR FOE
Yankees prep for Santana, surprise Twins in wild card
After the Twins lost 103 games in 2016, it was impossible to predict they would be in the postseason one season later.
But they are in, and barring a collapse by the AL East-leading Red Sox, the Twins will face the Yankees on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium in a sudden-death AL wild-card game.
“I think it is impressive. They are another club with a lot of young talent,’’ Joe Girardi said of the Twins, against whom the Yankees won four of six this season, including sweeping a three-game series in The Bronx last week. “You look up and down that lineup and you are only going to see a couple of veterans in it. It’s mostly a lot of young kids who have had really good years and have really grown up since last year and that’s why they are where they are.’’
The Twins are expected to start veteran righthander Ervin Santana, who the Yankees are quite familiar with. The 34year-old has made 20 career starts against the Yankees and is 6-10 with a 5.66 ERA. Santana started once against Girardi’s team this season, losing, 2-1, on Sept. 18 at Yankee Stadium when he worked 5 2/3 innings and gave up two runs on seven hits. One of those hits was an Aaron Judge home run in the first inning.
“We expected that over the past week, 10 days. We will continue to look at him,’’ Girardi said of Santana, who is 16-8 with a 3.36 ERA this season. “He is obviously a pitcher with a lot of experience who has pitched extremely well this year and in the past and he has been in these playoff games.’’
Santana has appeared in eight postseason games and made two starts. Neither start was against the Yankees, though he has worked five games against in relief, all while with the Angels. The last postseason in which Santana faced the Yankees was the 2009 ALCS as a member of the Angels.