Series preview: Can resurgent Twins hang with scuffling Yankees in NY?

The history is well-documented. Over the past 20-plus years, the Minnesota Twins simply haven't beaten the New York Yankees very often.

Since 2002, between the regular season and playoffs, the Twins are 44-123 against the Yankees. That's a winning percentage just above 26. During that time, they're 18-66 at two different iterations of Yankee Stadium, which is a winning percentage just above 21. It's been a house of horrors for the franchise.

So as the Twins get set to begin a three-game series in the Bronx on Monday night, history is clearly not on their side. But how much should that really matter? It's not like this current roster has much to do with the Twins' awful record against the Yankees over a 23-year span.

Plus, the 56-61 Twins are entering this series with more momentum and better vibes than the 62-56 Yankees, which is hard to fathom considering the difference in their trade deadlines.

The Twins, after a fire sale that saw them trade 10 players off of their major-league roster, have won five of their last seven games, highlighted by a walkoff homer from rookie sensation Luke Keaschall on Sunday. It's a young, hungry group that seems to be playing loose without the burden of expectations. Keaschall has been the catalyst, and now Byron Buxton is back.

Meanwhile, the Yankees were full-on buyers before the deadline, but their bullpen acquisitions have flopped so far. This is a team that was 42-25 in mid-June and has gone 20-31 since then. More recently, the Yankees have lost seven of their last nine games.

To be clear, New York should still be considered an obvious favorite to win this series. The Yankees are 35-24 at home this year and have one of the best offenses in baseball, led by an otherworldly Aaron Judge season. No team has hit more home runs in 2025. The Twins are 24-36 on the road, are still without Pablo Lopez in their rotation, and have a very depleted bullpen. Avoiding a sweep would be a positive outcome for Minnesota.

But with Keaschall and Buxton in the Twins' lineup, who knows what's possible? The Yankees' pitching staff is shaky, and they'll send two young right-handers to the mound this week who are talented but still developing. New York's bullpen has struggled. Defense has also been an issue at times. If the Twins can win one of the first two games and hand the ball to Joe Ryan in a rubber match, they'll have to feel decent about their chances to claim a series at Yankee Stadium for the first time since 2014.

Here are this week's pitching matchups. All three games are at 6:05 p.m. CT.

Monday: RHP Zebby Matthews (5.17 ERA) vs. RHP Will Warren (4.44)
Tuesday: Twins starter TBD vs. LHP Carlos Rodon (3.35)
Wednesday: RHP Joe Ryan (2.79) vs. RHP Cam Schlitter (4.38)

More Twins coverage