New York (Lilly) @ Minnesota (Lohse)
Well I am taking the visiting Yankees who have been playing well on the road lately going 8-2 in their last 10 games on the highway.
The Yankees send young left hander Ted Lilly to the mound today who has been pretty solid so far this year pitching just one bad game against the Mariners (allot of pitchers have had bad days against the Mariners!) he has a record of 0-3 on the year but has really pitched better than that, he has an ERA of 2.84 and a very solid WHIP of 0.79. He has 1 road start this year at Seattle where he pitched 8 innings with an ERA of 1.80 and a WHIP of .25, this is his first start against the Twins.
The Twins counter with Kyle Lohse who has had a shaky start so far this year he is 2-2 with an ERA of 5.82 and a WHIP of 1.441 and in my opinion has not faced a quality team yet till today! He has faced Toronto, Cleveland twice, Tampa Bay twice and the pitiful Detroit Tigers. This is his first start against the Bronx Bombers!
The Yankees offense has been allot better here of late they are averaging 5.5 runs a game while batting .274 against right handed starters with an on base percentage of .391. While on the defensive side of the ball they are playing very well allowing the opposition to score just 3.7 runs a game while batting .220 with an on base percentage of .316. The bullpen after a shaky start to the year has settled down and pitched the way they should with an ERA of 3.40 and a WHIP of 1.356 on the road in 45 innings.
The Minnesota offense has been doing well at home but I think a lack of quality teams has that record a little inflated, they are scoring on average 5 runs a game while hitting .289 as a team against lefties with an on base percentage of .382. On defense they have been solid as well but again have to question the opponents quality they are allowing the other team to score just 3.9 runs a game while batting .251 with an on base percentage of .326, their bullpen has an ERA of 3.50 at home with a WHIP of 1.204.
The home plate umpire Culbreth has a large strike zone and I think that favors Lilly and the Yankees as Lohse has some control problems and has not faced the quality hitter that he will today!
Bottom line is this, everyone is making a big deal about the Minnesota home record but look at the teams they have played at home Detroit twice, the Royals twice, Cleveland and Tampa Bay all teams that are not even in the same league as the Yankees in my personal opinion! I will take my chances with a young pitcher in Lilly that is much better than his record shows and the Yankees bats that have found life!
Playing New York Yankees -122