Game 6 Preview: Twins vs. Yankees

Well, last night started off promising and suddenly became abysmal. Sabathia gives 7 innings of shutout ball and an eighth inning gone awry leads to a tied game. Needless to say, the Yankees botched it last night. The good news is that there are 157 more games this season, and one of them is tonight! 

The writers here at Pinstripe Alley are hoping to install a "Game Preview" every day now, posted approximately 2-3 hours before the game. Make sure you always check back for it! Now, onto the preview. 

Tonight, the Yankees hand the ball to Freddy Garcia. As most of you know by now, Garcia won the fifth spot in the rotation out of Spring Training and gets to make his pinstripe debut tonight. The 35-year-old has now played for five different teams over the course of his career and had his peak performance year back in 2001, posting an 18-6 record with a 3.05 ERA through 238.2 innings pitched. Unfortunately, he hasn't been the same pitcher since. He's shown flashes of his '01 form, but never over an entire season. Let's hope the Yankees struck gold in acquiring him. 

Pitching for the Twins is... Carl Pavano! Do I even need to preface him? He signed a 4-year/$40 million contract with the Yankees prior to 2005 and only appeared in 26 games in that span. Of course, Carl Pavano regains his old form in a contract year in 2010 where he posts a 3.75 ERA over 221 innings pitched and seven complete games. That's SIX more than he had with the Yankees. Go figure. The "boo-birds" will be out in full force tonight and I'm sure Pavano doesn't mind. 

Notes: 

1) Freddy Garcia has 22 career starts against the Minnesota Twins, posting a 10-7 record with a 4.04 ERA. 

2) Carl Pavano has actually pitched well against the Yankees ever since leaving the team... In four starts, 26.1 IP/ 3.42 ERA / 20 K / 1 BB / 26 H. 

3) Last time Yankee fans saw Carl Pavano, he was walking off the mound at Target Field after Derek Jeter's RBI single pushed the Yankee lead to 4-2. That was Game 2 of the 2010 ALDS. 

4) Here is a look at how Freddy Garcia has fared against current Minnesota Twin players over his career. 

5) Here is a look at how Carl Pavano has fared against current New York Yankee players over his career. 

6) The Yankees are now 57-18 against the Minnesota Twins since 2002 (including playoffs... where the Yanks are 12-2 against Minnesota). Dominance.