Anyone waiting for the Minnesota Twins to start showing up against the New York Yankees will have to wait — and hope — for Thursday afternoon. The Twins dropped a second straight game to the Yankees, with Pablo Lopez getting tagged for three runs including a monster home run to Aaron Judge.
It’s the sort of bullying that the Twins have known all too well over the years of Yankees dominance, and this first series has been a far cry from how things went last season. Minnesota won its first season series over New York since 2001, something that gave everyone hope that the monkey had been at least partially thrown off their backs.
As it turns out, the monkey was merely repositioning itself.
The Twins are still doing well on the macro, having gone 17-5 over the last 22 games, but getting smacked around by the Yankees is the exact sort of thing that can kill the good vibes.
Twins vs. Yankees probable starting pitchers, May 16
It’ll be Joe Ryan (2-2, 3.21 ERA) on the mound for the Twins to try and avoid the sweep and keep the vibes going.
Ryan will face Clark Schmidt (4-1, 2.95 ERA) who has looked pretty good over his last few starts. He has wins over the Rays and Tigers, but managed to strikeout 13 batters over those two games while allowing just three runs.
The good news for Minnesota is that those three runs came in a game against the Tigers, who aren’t exactly an offensive powerhouse this season. Schmidt hasn’t done as hot against better offenses, losing to the Orioles and going just 4.1 innings against the Blue Jays.
Minnesota has shown the ability to get things going at the plate over this most recent stretch and they’ll have to tap into that on Thursday to avoid the sweep.
As for Ryan, he can attempt to make up for some bumpy starts by Chris Paddack and Pablo Lopez. It seems that Paddack might have Ben tipping his pitches in a 5-1 loss on Tuesday while Lopez gave up another Brad Radke-ian first inning home run on his way to allowing 10 hits against New York.
Ryan has been solid, albeit a bit uneven, so far this season and can make a statement for both himself and the Twins with a dominating performance on Thursday.
Minnesota Twins starting lineup, May 16
Here’s the lineup Minnesota is rolling with to try and avoid a sweep against the Yankees:
Here's the lineup. pic.twitter.com/5PcCQQ4bU7
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) May 16, 2024
New York Yankees starting lineup, May 16
Meanwhile, the Yankees are rolling with another solid lineup to try and push the Twins even further down at the end of this series. Aaron Judge’s bat is still in the lineup at DH, which will be interesting to watch as he goes up against Joe Ryan.
Matinee in Minneapolis. #RepBX pic.twitter.com/fsfnCdVH0r
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 16, 2024
What time is the Minnesota Twins game today?
It’s a day game to end the first series against New York, which means a quick turnaround the Twins might be able to take advantage of. Here’s when the action will be going down:
- Game time: 12:10 pm CT
- Date: Thursday, May 16, 2024
- Location: Minneapolis, MN
- Stadium: Target Field
How to watch Minnesota Twins game today
- Bally Sports website and Bally Sports App
- MLB.tv (subscription required)
- fuboTV (which has a free trial)