Twins To Host Yankees Before Embarking On Long Road Swing

The Twins (36-42) will host the Yankees (42-39) at Target Field for a four game set Monday-Thursday before hitting the road for 14 straight against the AL East.

The Yankees are very banged-up on the season with Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson, Kevin Youkilis and Alex Rodriguez on the shelf with long-term injuries.

Monday's pitching matchup features a pair of lefties with very different resumes. Andy Pettitte (5-6, 4.22 ERA) will get the start for the Yankees. The 18-year veteran boasts 250 career wins and is the owner of five World Series rings.

Starting for the Twins is former Rule 5 draft pick Scott Diamond (5-7, 5.40 ERA). After a strong 2012 season in which the lefthander went 12-9 with a 3.04 ERA, Diamond has struggled mightily in 2013.

Tuesday's probable starters are the Yankees' Phil Hughes (3-7, 4.82 ERA) against Samuel Deduno (4-2, 3.32 ERA) for the Twins. Hughes has been the subject of trade rumors lately as New York looks to shore up their banged-up offense.

On Wednesday, the Twins will send PJ Walters (2-4, 6.03) to the hill against Yankees ace CC Sabathia (8-6, 4.15 ERA). Walters has allowed 12 runs in 3.2 innings over his last two starts.

Thursday's matinee features Kyle Gibson (1-0, 3.00 ERA) making his second career start for the Twins against David Phelps (5-5, 4.95 ERA). Gibson made his MLB debut on Saturday in a win over the Royals at Target Field.

Twins baseball can be heard all season long on AM1240 WJON.