Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below 
A strong pitching performance helped the Minnesota Twins open June with a victory and gain ground in the AL Central standings. They’ll be looking to gain further momentum with their top starter set to take the mound.
Livan Hernandez looks to remain unbeaten in the Metrodome and help the Twins salvage a split of their four-game series with the New York Yankees on Monday.
Minnesota (29-27) exhausted seven relievers in Saturday night’s 7-6, 12-inning loss to New York, but less than 24 hours later, the bullpen held the Yankees (28-28) scoreless for the final 4 2-3 innings in a 5-1 victory.
The win, though, was overshadowed by an injury to starter Nick Blackburn, who exited after he was hit in the face by Bobby Abreu’s line drive in the fifth inning. X-rays showed no broken bones, but the right side of Blackburn’s nose and his upper lip were visibly swollen.
Series at a GlanceNY Yankees 6
Minnesota 5
Fri, May 30 - Final
NY Yankees 7
Minnesota 6
Sat, May 31 - Final 12th
NY Yankees 1
Minnesota 5
Sun, Jun 1 - Final
NY Yankees at
Minnesota
Mon, Jun 2 - 7:10 pm ET
Blackburn limited the Yankees to one run and five hits before the bullpen helped the Twins to their fifth win in seven games.
“You can’t ask any more of those guys,” said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, whose relief staff has posted a 1.84 ERA over the last four games.
Michael Cuddyer tripled and drove in three runs to move Minnesota within one game of the division-leading Chicago White Sox, who lost at Tampa Bay on Sunday.
The Twins will now try to split this four-game set behind Hernandez, who aims to win for the first time in four starts.
Hernandez (6-2, 4.60 ERA) went 6-1 with a 3.90 ERA in his first nine starts of the season, but has gone 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in his last three.
The right-hander yielded eight runs—six earned—and a season-high 13 hits over six innings of a 9-8, 10-inning victory at Kansas City on Wednesday.
Hernandez, who is 4-0 with a 4.23 ERA in six home outings, looks to bounce back from that effort and post his first career win versus the Yankees. He is 0-3 with a 6.08 ERA in four career starts against them.
Hernandez spent the first 12 years of his career in the NL, so he is familiar with Abreu, who has hit .284 (19-for-67) with two homers and six RBIs versus him.
Abreu’s single and Derek Jeter’s home run accounted for two of eight hits for the Yankees on Sunday, who had their three-game winning streak snapped and lost for only the third time in 11 games.
“We need to keep pushing forward,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “We’ve got a chance to win a series tomorrow.”
They’ll try to do it behind Andy Pettitte, who hopes to win his fourth straight start against the Twins.
Pettitte (5-5, 4.11) is 8-5 with a 3.52 ERA in 17 career starts against them, going 5-4 with a 3.48 ERA in 11 starts at the Metrodome. He is 3-0 with a 2.37 ERA in his last three outings versus the Twins.
While the left-hander hasn’t been as dominant lately, he has won his last two starts after going 0-4 with a 6.26 ERA in his previous five.
In Pettitte’s most recent outing, he gave up two runs and eight hits in 6 2-3 innings of a 4-2 win at Baltimore on Wednesday.
Livan Hernandez looks to remain unbeaten in the Metrodome and help the Twins salvage a split of their four-game series with the New York Yankees on Monday.
Minnesota (29-27) exhausted seven relievers in Saturday night’s 7-6, 12-inning loss to New York, but less than 24 hours later, the bullpen held the Yankees (28-28) scoreless for the final 4 2-3 innings in a 5-1 victory.
The win, though, was overshadowed by an injury to starter Nick Blackburn, who exited after he was hit in the face by Bobby Abreu’s line drive in the fifth inning. X-rays showed no broken bones, but the right side of Blackburn’s nose and his upper lip were visibly swollen.
Series at a GlanceNY Yankees 6
Minnesota 5
Fri, May 30 - Final
NY Yankees 7
Minnesota 6
Sat, May 31 - Final 12th
NY Yankees 1
Minnesota 5
Sun, Jun 1 - Final
NY Yankees at
Minnesota
Mon, Jun 2 - 7:10 pm ET
Blackburn limited the Yankees to one run and five hits before the bullpen helped the Twins to their fifth win in seven games.
“You can’t ask any more of those guys,” said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, whose relief staff has posted a 1.84 ERA over the last four games.
Michael Cuddyer tripled and drove in three runs to move Minnesota within one game of the division-leading Chicago White Sox, who lost at Tampa Bay on Sunday.
The Twins will now try to split this four-game set behind Hernandez, who aims to win for the first time in four starts.
Hernandez (6-2, 4.60 ERA) went 6-1 with a 3.90 ERA in his first nine starts of the season, but has gone 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in his last three.
The right-hander yielded eight runs—six earned—and a season-high 13 hits over six innings of a 9-8, 10-inning victory at Kansas City on Wednesday.
Hernandez, who is 4-0 with a 4.23 ERA in six home outings, looks to bounce back from that effort and post his first career win versus the Yankees. He is 0-3 with a 6.08 ERA in four career starts against them.
Hernandez spent the first 12 years of his career in the NL, so he is familiar with Abreu, who has hit .284 (19-for-67) with two homers and six RBIs versus him.
Abreu’s single and Derek Jeter’s home run accounted for two of eight hits for the Yankees on Sunday, who had their three-game winning streak snapped and lost for only the third time in 11 games.
“We need to keep pushing forward,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “We’ve got a chance to win a series tomorrow.”
They’ll try to do it behind Andy Pettitte, who hopes to win his fourth straight start against the Twins.
Pettitte (5-5, 4.11) is 8-5 with a 3.52 ERA in 17 career starts against them, going 5-4 with a 3.48 ERA in 11 starts at the Metrodome. He is 3-0 with a 2.37 ERA in his last three outings versus the Twins.
While the left-hander hasn’t been as dominant lately, he has won his last two starts after going 0-4 with a 6.26 ERA in his previous five.
In Pettitte’s most recent outing, he gave up two runs and eight hits in 6 2-3 innings of a 4-2 win at Baltimore on Wednesday.
