Series #3: Minnesota Twins (4-1) vs New York Yankees (2-3)

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Tonight will be the first game of three game showdown between the Twins and eh, the Yankees.

Sidney Ponson vs Carl Pavano. It is not going to become a pitching duel here, but I hope the Twins' offense will able to take advantage of Pavano as the Yankees' pitching unit has at least 5.00 ERA.

On ESPN tonight at 6:05 CST, nation wide.

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Ponson, Twins set to face Yanks
New York (2-3) at Minnesota (4-1), 6:05 p.m. CT
By Kelly Thesier / MLB.com

Facing the Yankees is always a difficult challenge for the Twins, no matter who is in the team's lineup.

But the Yankees will be missing one of their stars for the entire three-game series at the Metrodome that begins on Monday.

The Yankees will be without left fielder Hideki Matsui after he was placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday with a strained left hamstring. It was an injury that Matsui suffered while trying to run out a ground ball Friday.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said that you never want to see a player get hurt, but he admitted that missing out on Matsui for the series wasn't exactly bad news for him.

"Am I disappointed? No," Gardenhire said. "I enjoy watching him play but as a manager, I don't mind that he's going to miss some of our games. That's OK."

Still, Gardenhire said that the task of trying to beat the famed club won't be made any easier in Matsui's absence. With a lineup that includes plenty of power in Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi as well as consistent hitting in Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano, the Yankees have their fair share of talent to throw an opponent's way.

"No matter if it's Matsui or not, they'll have another great hitter in there," Gardenhire said. "Believe me, it's the Yankees. They've got a bunch of good baseball players. When Cano is hitting like eighth, that's a good lineup. Doug Mientkiewicz is hitting ninth, and he hit third for me. That tells you a little about the Yankees lineup."

With or without certain people in the lineup, the series between the Twins and the Yankees is always one that brings an extra excitement to the Metrodome. And this time, the players themselves seem to be a little more amped for the series -- even if it is just to get out of the cold they experienced this weekend while playing two games in Chicago.

"Oh dome sweet dome," Michael Cuddyer said with a laugh. "Everybody talks about how bad the Metrodome is but playing these two games out here, it's nice to be going back to Minneapolis and playing in the dome again."

What awaits the Twins when they do return home is a series against a club that has proven to be quite a difficult opponent in recent years. The Twins are 17-30 against the Yankees over the past six seasons. Most of the Twins' troubles have been on the road against the club as they've won just one series at Yankee Stadium since 1992, but there is always quite a battle that has gone on at the Metrodome, especially over the past couple seasons. That's because the Twins have won three straight series at home over New York.

But while there have been plenty of pundits that say this upcoming series will be a good early test to see where the Twins stack up against quality competition, the players are trying to take it as just another series.

"I'm just going to go out there and play," Torii Hunter said. "The Yankees are just another team, just like I played the White Sox, the Orioles, I'm going to attack the same way. Go out there and just try to win."

Pitching matchup
MIN: RHP Sidney Ponson (4-5, 6.25 ERA in 2006)
It's been a different Ponson that arrived at Twins camp this spring. With his weight in check and a focus on pitching for groundouts, Ponson has turned himself into an efficient, work-horse pitcher. The hope for the Twins is that he maintains that attitude into the season and doesn't let things fall apart like he did in some outings this spring, when his ball got up in the strikezone. In his career against the Yankees, Ponson is 6-12 with a 4.63 ERA.

NYY: RHP Carl Pavano (0-0, 8.31 ERA)
Now that Pavano has finally erased June 27, 2005, from the public consciousness, the right-hander's task is to continue taking turns around the rotation. Pavano didn't allow the atmosphere of Opening Day nor some sloppy defense to derail his effort against the Devil Rays; more accurately, he ran low on gas in the fifth inning, but the start was still a stepping-stone. As he learned Monday, the Yankees will score runs -- all Pavano needs to do to win a few games is pitch competently.

Player to watch
Jeff Cirillo is a career 6-for-11 hitter off Pavano with a home run and a walk. Despite having been limited to only pinch-hitting this weekend due to a sore left knee, Cirillo is expected to be used in a larger capacity once the club returns back to the dome.

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