The New York Yankees are down bad, which means it’s the perfect time for the Minnesota Twins to come to town.
If history is any indicator, the Twins could be the cure for what ails the freefalling Yankees, who have dropped seven straight and 10 of 12 and have fallen 3.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.
Despite their skid, the Yankees (48-38) still have the second-best record in the American League and have the league’s best run differential (plus-87). They are 6.5 games ahead of the Houston Astros, who are the first team out of the AL wild card race.
The Yankees Have Owned the Twins
GettyJazz Chisholm Jr. and the Yankees have owned the Minnesota Twins, especially in games played at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees are down bad, and even Aaron Boone is acknowledging the swoon.
âItâs been a terrible week for us,â Boone said according to The Athletic. âThereâs no way of sugarcoating it. Weâre capable of way more, obviously. Youâre gonna have stretches where itâs tough, where youâre missing some guys.
“This was a really difficult week for us offensively, coupled with not playing clean enough and taking care of the ball well enough. Thatâs what you get. You get an awful week.â
But if you’ve followed the Yankees for any length of time, you should know about their dominance against the Twins, especially at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees are 125-44 against the Twins since 2022 and are 16-2 against Minnesota in the postseason in that span. The Yankees have won 13 straight playoff games against the Twins.
Minnesota ace Joe Ryan did outduel Cam Schlittler and shut down the Yankees in their most recent meeting in the Bronx — a rain-affected, 4-1 win at the Stadium on Aug. 13, 2025.
But the Yankees are 60-17 against the Twins at Yankee Stadium since 2002 and haven’t lost a series at home against Minnesota since 2014.
So with an off day Thursday, then three games against Minnesota that will be started by Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon and Ryan Weathers, things have to be looking up even amid the “s—-y” vibes according to outfielder Cody Bellinger.
The Twins are Still in the Mix in the American League … Barely
GettyJoe Ryan is 3-2 with a 3.30 earned-run average in five career starts against the Yankees.
The American League has been awful this year, and therefore the Twins are still in the mix for a postseason spot, even potentially with one eye turned on the future.
Minnesota (42-46) sits just 2.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners for the final AL wild-card spot, and is only 4.5 games behind the first-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.
Still, the Twins are likely to sell at the trade deadline for the second straight year, and Yankees fans undoubtedly have heard about catcher Ryan Jeffers as an option before Aug. 3.
Jeffers is on the IL with a broken hamate bone, and even though he is close to returning, he won’t play in this series.
If the Yankees want to keep their consecutive-series win streak over the Twins going, they’ll want to win the first two games, with Ryan pitching in the finale Sunday.
But the Yankees offense has been lifeless, and Minnesota’s starters this weekend — Mike Paredes (0-1, 4.26 ERA), Zebby Matthews (4-5, 4.15) and Ryan (5-5, 361 ERA) — are capable of shutting down the slumping Bombers.
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