The Yankees improved their odds at hosting a playoff series by taking two of three games in Boston and growing their lead on the Red Sox for the first Wild Card spot in the AL. They’ve started September 7-5, winning three of their first four series, all against presumptive AL postseason foes. Now begins the denouement of the regular season calendar. Their final four series of the year will come against teams with losing records, beginning with their historical punching bag: the Twins.
I mentioned
it in this morning’s mid-September check-in, but Minnesota has not exactly been a hotbed of optimism on the diamond lately. The Bombers saw them a month ago, when they were fresh off their deadline teardown, and comfortably took two of three games at the Stadium. Taking care of business in a similar fashion will begin with a good night on the mound from the Yankees’ 2025 Roberto Clemente Award nominee: Carlos Rodón.
Rodón’s seven-inning, one-run gem against the Twinkies in August heralded a return to form for the southpaw which has carried through his next five starts. He’s largely gotten it done without posting eye-popping strikeout numbers; his highest K total over this stretch is six. But he’s allowed two runs or fewer in each of those starts. He got stuck with the loss last time in an 11-1 loss to the Tigers, but nine of those runs came thanks to the bullpen. Pitchers used to lose arbitration cases because of games like those.
Simeon Woods Richardson, a former top prospect in the Mets and Blue Jays’ organization, has gotten a lot of run out of the rotation over the past two seasons. He has cumulatively pitched to a 4.34 ERA and 4.47 FIP across 48 appearances (47 starts) and 228 innings. There may yet be another version of the 24-year old we have yet to see, but the numbers and the process have been equally uninspiring. He doesn’t excel in picking up strikeouts, limiting walks, or keeping opposing hitters out of the air. None of his pitches pop out as elite offerings, and he doesn’t pitch deep into games, having completed six innings just once this season. There’s a bit of an unknown factor here though: the Yankees have never faced Woods Richardson before.
Some lineup notes: Paul Goldschmidt will get a second straight start at first base tonight as Ryan McMahon returns to third base. Austin Wells returns behind the plate and Ben Rice will get the night off. José Caballero gets another start at shortstop as Anthony Volpe’s season continues to hang in this weird limbo—apparently not hurt enough to go on the IL, but also not healthy enough to start. Caballero, who crushed a ball over the Green Monster last night, has earned the playing time regardless.
How to Watch:
Location: Target Field — Minneapolis, MN
First Pitch: 7:40 p.m. EDT
TV broadcast: YES, Twins.TV
Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280; TIBN, WCCO 830, The Wolf 102.9 FM, Audacy
Online stream: MLB.tv (out-of-market only)
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