New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins: Jameson Taillon vs. John Gant

For the first time in months, the Yankees will open a series with the goal of putting distance between themselves and a club chasing them in the standings, rather than being chasers themselves. Coming into play a game up in the Wild Card hunt over Boston and Oakland, the Yankees will send one of their more reliable arms over the past two months to the mound with a chance to increase that lead.

We all know how successful Jameson Taillon has been after getting through his early season struggles. In his last ten starts he’s averaged six innings per outing, with a 2.25 ERA and 3.92 FIP. His strikeout rate has declined, and he’s giving up a few too many fly balls, but the results have been there and I’ll take it over his April and May performance.

Meanwhile, the Twins will start John Gant, who endlessly fascinates me. His 3.49 ERA on the season is actually considerably better than Taillon’s own mark, yet immediately undercut by a 5.52 xERA (!!) and 4.84 FIP. He’s among the absolute luckiest pitchers in baseball, with a sky high walk rate of more than 15 percent.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium — Bronx, NY

First pitch: 7:05 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES, BSNO

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280

Online stream: MLB.tv

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