New York Yankees @ Minnesota Twins: Nestor Cortes vs. Joe Ryan

In Tuesday’s matchup, the Yankees are staring down a second consecutive series loss. They’re coming off a 6-1 defeat in the freezing temperature of the Midwest and the bats are scuffling to say the least.

The turbulent starting pitching from anyone not named Gerrit or Nestor was to be expected with Yankees starting pitchers dropping like flies. The offense, though, was responsible for picking up that slack, and they haven’t.

The New York offense has put up five runs total in the last four games. Aaron Judge is striking out at a 28.9-percent clip. The bottom of the lineup isn’t getting it done. Franchy Cordero’s jaunt as a productive hitter seems to be over, and Willie Calhoun hasn’t hit since spring training ended. Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza are still trying to find their footing. Without Giancarlo Stanton, the lineup is missing thump to say the least. All of those players are in the lineup, trying to get something going (of minor note: Judge and Anthony Rizzo swapped places).

The Yankees have the reliable Nestor Cortes on the bump, while the Twins send out Joe Ryan, the righty with elite fastball spin. Cortes and Ryan matched up on April 13th at Yankee Stadium. Ryan flashed that “invisi-ball” fastball en route to three hits in seven innings with 10 K’s. Overall this year he checks in with a 3.24 ERA and a sparkling 0.76 WHIP.

Cortes fared similarly that day, allowing five hits and two runs over seven innings. Overall Nasty Nestor has been just that — filthy, even. Or disgusting. Regardless of which adjective is your favorite, Cortes comes in with a 3.09 ERA and 1.03 WHIP. (As a small note, New York will have veteran Nick Ramirez up from Triple-A to give their bullpen support if needed.)

The Yankees need a “stopper” as CC Sabathia used to say often, and today, a quality start and a Yankees win is much-needed. It remains to be seen if the series win magic will continue today at Target Field.

How to watch:

Location: Target Field — Minneapolis, MN

First pitch: 7:40 pm EDT

TV Broadcast: YES Network, Bally Sports Midwest, MLB Network (out-of-market only)

Radio Broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280

Online Stream: MLB.tv

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