Three ways the Minnesota Twins could scare Yankees in ALDS

The New York Yankees begin a best-of-five series in the American League Division Series against the Minnesota Twins on Friday at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees enter the series as heavy favorites, but the Twins are by no means a slouch. In fact, the Yankees should be very wary of Minnesota, here are three reasons why.

Big Time Offense

Any time anyone talks about the Yankees, one of the first things they say is how powerful their lineup is. That is true as New York hit 306 home runs this season – good for second in all of baseball. Who was first? You guessed it, the Minnesota Twins hit 307.

Minnesota had eight players hit 20 or more homers and five that have 30 or more. This is a lineup that can rake. The Yankees starting pitchers have at times been prone to giving up the long ball. James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka, and Luis Severino will need to keep the ball in the ballpark.

Minnesota ranks second in the majors in runs, batting average and OPS.

Momentum

The Twins enter the ALDS as one of the hottest teams in baseball. Minnesota enjoyed the month of September as they went 21-9. Momentum can sometimes be what takes a team over the hump. The regular season did however end on Sunday and Game 1 of the ALDS is not until Friday – will the long rest slow down the Twins?

The Yankees went just 14-11 in September, tied for their worst month of the season.

Poise on the Road

Yankee Stadium has a history of being a house of horrors for opposing teams in October. Playoff baseball in the Bronx in unmatched with sell outs and loud crowds that have the ability to rattle opposing teams’ pitchers.

During the regular season, Minnesota was the best road team in baseball. The Twins were 55-26 away from Target Field this season. That’s the fifth best road record ever by a Major League Baseball team.