MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:
THE TWINS: After completing their six-game homestand with a record of 4-2 (2-1 vs. both Houston and Chicago-AL), the Twins began their seven-game, eight-day roadtrip with a victory over the Yankees in New York last night…tonight they will play the second of four at Yankee Stadium and finish the series on Sunday…they will travel to Boston on the off-day Monday, then play the Red Sox for three games at Fenway Park from Tuesday-Thursday.
TWINS CRUSH YANKS FROM THE JUMP: The Twins beat the Yankees last night in The Bronx by a score of 11-2…Joe Ryan (3-0) was the starter and winner, allowing one run on three hits in 7.0 innings pitched, with no walks and 10 strikeouts…the offense scored nine of their runs in the first inning on eight hits, including three-straight home runs by Michael A. Taylor, Edouard Julien and Carlos Correa; Taylor left the yard twice, his third career multi-homer game…it marked the third time in Twins history (since 1961) to homer three consecutive times against the Yankees, their most against any opponent…nine runs also marked the Twins’ most runs scored in an inning against the Yankees.
Twins are 9-4 through the first 13 games of the season, the 11th time in club history with at least nine wins through the first 13 games of a campaign…other years: 1961 (9-4), 1965 (9-4), 1970 (9-4), 1972 (10-3), 1973 (9-4), 1987 (9-4), 2001 (10-3), 2004 (9-4), 2010 (9-4), 2020 (10-3).
RUN THE JULS: Edouard Julien recorded his first major league hit with a leadoff single in the first inning last night…Twins sent 13 men to the plate and he homered in his second plate appearance, becoming eighth different player in baseball history in the expansion era (since 1961) whose first two MLB hits came in the same inning, fourth to include a homer (Elias):
PLAYER DATE INNING HITS
Edouard Julien, MIN…………………. 4/13/23 at NYY……………………….. 1st…………………… 2 (single, home run)
Aramis Garcia, SF……………………. 8/13/18 vs. NYM………………………. 8th……………………. 2 (single, home run)
Derek Fisher, HOU……………………..6/14/17 vs. TEX ………………………. 6th……………………. 2 (single, home run)
Adam LaRoche, ATL………………….. 4/7/04 vs. NYM……………………….. 4th……………………….. 2 (single, double)
Wilkin Ruan, ARI…………………………9/2/02 at ARI ………………………… 7th……………………….. 2 (single, double)
Greg Norton, CWS…………………….. 8/19/96 at DET……………………….. 9th………………………………. 2 (2 singles)
Chad Kreuter, TEX…………………….. 9/14/88 at OAK……………………….. 5th……………………. 2 (single, home run)
Greg Johnston, SF……………………..8/14/79 at CHC……………………….. 5th………………………… 2 (single,double)
Bill Bonham, CHC………………………6/25/71 at STL……………………….. 7th………………………………. 2 (2 singles)
LOU WORLD ORDER: The Twins have recalled right-handed pitcher Louie Varland from Triple-A St. Paul…Varland, 25, has made one start for the Saints on April 7 vs. Iowa, allowing one run on four hits in 5.0 innings pitched, with one walk and nine strikeouts…the St. Paul, Minnesota native made five starts for the Twins last season, going 1-2, 3.81 ERA (26.0 IP, 11 ER), six walks and 21 strikeouts…he made his major league debut in a start at Yankee Stadium on September 7, 2022, starting the first game of a doubleheader and allowing two runs on three hits in 5.1 innings pitched, with one walk and seven strikeouts…to make room on the 26-man roster, the Twins have optioned right-handed pitcher Cole Sands to Triple-A St. Paul.
ROTATIONAL PULL: Through 13 games, Twins starting pitchers have combined to post a 2.31 ERA (78.0 IP, 20 ER), with 17 walks, 96 strikeouts and a 0.87 WHIP, leading MLB in innings pitched…below are their other ranks among all starting staffs in Major League Baseball:
ERA BAA FIP WHIP HITS ALLOWED K’s OPS
TB – 2.15 MIN – .183 TB – 2.09 MIN – 0.87 TB – 46 MIN – 96 TB – .507
MIN – 2.31 TB – .192 MIN – 2.89 TB – 0.93 MIN – 51 TB – 84 MIN – .532
SF – 3.03 MIL – .221 TEX – 3.38 LAD – 1.09 CHC – 52 TEX – 81 LAD – .655
HOU – 3.38 LAD – .232 LAD – 3.41 SF – 1.16 NYY – 55 CWS – 80 MIL – .656
KC – 3.47 LAA – .235 PHI – 3.60 MIL – 1.16 2 tied – 57 CIN – 75 LAA – .687
EMPIRE STATE OF MIND: The Twins and Yankees are playing the second of seven scheduled games in 2023…after this four-game series, the Twins will host the Yankees for three games from April 24-26 at Target Field…since 2002, the Twins have gone 39-98 against the Yankees in regular season play…since the start of 2017, they are 3-16 in regular season games at Yankee Stadium.
Including the 2022 season series finale, the Twins have won two straight over the Yankees for the first time since September 11-12, 2018…the last time they won three-straight against New York was July 13-14, 2013 (2 at NYY)-May 30, 2014 (1 at NYY).
Carlos Correa is hitting .317 (46-for-145) with eight doubles, 12 home runs, 30 RBI, 17 walks, a .387 on-base percentage, a .621 slugging percentage and a 1.007 OPS in 38 career regular season games against the Yankees…he has hit safely in seven straight against New York, homering four times in that span…additionally, he has homered in three-straight games at Yankee Stadium.
Byron Buxton is hitting .224 (11-for-49) in 15 career regular season games against the Yankees, but has hit .417 (10-for-24) with three doubles, four home runs, six RBI, six walks, a .548 on-base percentage, a 1.042 slugging percentage and a 1.590 OPS in his last seven.
Jose Miranda is hitting .333 (10-for-30) with two doubles, one home run, seven RBI, two walks and an .875 OPS in eight games vs. NYY.
THE LEFTORIUM: The Twins are facing a left-handed starter for just the second time this season, the previous being Jesús Luzardo on April 5 at Miami as the Twins fell 5-2…last season, the Twins went 27-22 in games started by left-handers.
Twins are slashing .233/.288/.383 with two home runs vs. lefties (Larnach and Gallo), compared to .246/.315/.391 vs. right-handers.
Carlos Correa is hitting .358 (19-for-53) with a 1.163 OPS against left-handed pitching in his last 27 games, since August 9, 2022.
MICHAEL STRAIGHT A’S TAYLOR: Michael A. Taylor has started all 13 games for the Twins in centerfield…he ranks third among all centerfielders in baseball in Ultimate Zone Rating at 1.3, trailing Luis Robert Jr. (2.1) and Kyle Isbel (1.4)…Taylor has played 115.0 innings in center, the fifth most in baseball…also has three-straight two-hit games at the plate, going 6-for-12 with three home runs and 7 RBI.
Byron Buxton has started at designated hitter in 11 of 13 games and has yet to play in the field…Buck is hitting .295 (13-for-44) with an .864 OPS, ranking second among all designated hitters in baseball in batting average and fifth in OPS.
CHRISTIAN ROCKS: Christian Vázquez has 11 hits in 29 at-bats this season, including five walks and is slashing .379/.471/.483 with a .953 OPS in nine games…he has reached base in eight of his nine games played (0-for-3 on April 4 at Miami)…among all catchers in baseball, he ranks first in batting average and on-base percentage, and fourth in OPS.
He also has three defensive runs saved, tied for first among all MLB catchers.
He has a catcher ERA of 1.98, which ranks second best in baseball, trailing Tampa Bay’s Francisco Mejía (1.58).
OH D!!: Donovan Solano has hit safely in eight-straight games, the longest for a Twin this season…the streak is tied for third-longest active streak in the AL…his career-high is 17, done with San Francisco from July 25-August 15, 2020…during his current stretch, he is hitting .375 (12-for-32) with two walks, a .429 on-base percentage and an .897 OPS in that span…he was signed by the Twins to a one-year contract on February 23.
STARTING PITCHER – LOUIE VARLAND #37
Was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul today and will make his first major league start of the season.
Facing New Yor-AL for the second time in his career, after making his major league debut at Yankee Stadium in game one of a doubleheader on September 7, 2022 (5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R/ER, 1 BB, 7 K).
Currently ranked as the No. 10 prospect in the Twins organization, per MLB.com.
Selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 15th round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft out of Division II Concordia University in St. Paul, Minnesota.
LAST TIME OUT: Varland earned his first major league win in his last starting the 2022 season finale on October 5 vs. the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field, opposite Davis Martin…pitched 5.0 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out five batters in his second-straight start against the White Sox…was relieved by Cole Sands who pitched 3.0 scoreless innings until allowing a run in the ninth…The Twins help secure the victory with a six-run first inning including, two home runs by Gary Sánchez and Jermaine Palacios.
Has tossed at least 5.0 innings in all five of his career starts to date and allowed two-or-fewer runs in three of the five, also doing so in his debut in the first game of the doubleheader on September 7 at New York-AL and against Chicago-AL on September 29.
WITH THE SAINTS: In his one start with Triple- A Saint Paul this season, Varland earned the 6-2 win after pitching 5.0 scoreless innings, allowing just one run on four hits, walking one batter and striking out nine versus Iowa…his lone blemish was a two-out RBI single to Jared Young in the second inning.
WELCOME (BACK) TO NEW YORK: Varland made his major league debut against the Yankees last year in game one of a doubleheader on September 7, 2022 at Yankee Stadium as the Twins fell 5-4 in 12 innings…allowed two runs on three hits, with one walk and seven strikeouts in 5.1 innings
pitched…did not factor into the decision…his first career strikeout was of Aaron Judge in the first inning; however also gave up his first career home run to Judge in his second time through the batting order…the Twins were leading 3-1 in the sixth inning when Varland allowed a leadoff single and then struck out the next batter before exiting…Griffin Jax allowed the game-tying home run to Gleyber Torres two batters later…the Yankees scored twice in the bottom of the 12th for the walk-off win.
Varland became the fourth pitcher in Twins history (1961-present) with at least seven strikeouts and one-or-fewer walks allowed in his major league debut, joining Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven (7 K, 1 BB on June 5, 1970), Yohan Pino (7 K, 1 BB on June 19, 2014) and Devin Smeltzer (7 K, 0 BB on May 28, 2019).
Became the third player in Twins history (1961-present) to make his major league debut as the starting pitcher in the first game of a doubleheader, joining Charlie Barnes (July 17, 2021 at Detroit; L, 4.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R/ER, 1 BB, 1 HR, 1 K) and Bert Cueto (June 18, 1961 at Chicago-AL; ND, 8.1 IP, 8 H, 3 R/ER, 3 BB, 3 K).
BACK ON THE ROAD: This will be the fourth career start on the road for Varland…last year in three road starts, Varland went 1-1, 3.52 ERA (15.1 IP, 6 ER), with three walks and 15 strikeouts..his road ERA ranked third across Twins rookie pitchers and sixth amongst the entire Twins pitching staff (min. 10.0 IP).
LEFTIES VS. RIGHTIES: In his five starts last season, Varland posted similar numbers against both left- and right-handed hitters but had a slight edge on lefties…lefties posted a .262/.296/.405 slash line (11-for-42)with three doubles, one home run, two walks, nine strikeouts and a .700 OPS…righties saw slightly more sucess, slashing .263/.323/.491 with an .814 OPS (15-for-57), two doubles, three home runs, four walks and 12 strikeouts.
PITCH BREAKDOWN: Varland used a four-pitch mix in his first five 2022 starts, including a four-seam fastball, slider, cutter and changeup according to Baseball Savant…below is a look at his repertoire:
PITCH (AVG. MPH) PCT. (# OF PITCHES, VS. RHB/LHB) RESULTS
4-Seam Fastball (93.8)…………….47.7% (196 pitches, 122/74)…. .231 (9-for-39), 3 2B, 2 HR, 10 K
Slider (83.3)……………………………..19.2% (79 pitches, 59/20)……………………… .316 (6-for-19), 5 K
Cutter (89.0) …………………………….18.5% (76 pitches, 48/28)…….. .364 (6-for-22), 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 K
Changeup (83.8)……………………….14.6% (60 pitches, 12/48)…….. .158 (3-for-19), 1 2B, 1 HR, 5 K
NEW YORK YANKEES NOTES:
AT A GLANCE: The Yankees continue their season-high 10-game homestand tonight with the second game of a four-game series vs. Minnesota (0-1 thus far)…will also play three-game sets vs. Los Angeles-AL (4/18-20) and Toronto (4/21-23)…went 4-2 on their recent road trip, winning two-of three in Baltimore and Cleveland.
Have won eight of their first 13 games for the third time in the last 10 years since 2014 (9-4 in 2017 and 2020)…with a win today, would mark just the fifth time in the last 20 years (since 2004) that the Yankees have won at least nine of their first 14 games (11-3 in 2010, 10-4 in 2020, and 9-5 in 2011 and 2017).
Their 8-5 (.615) record is tied for the third-best in the AL and tied for the fifth-best in the Majors, trailing only Tampa Bay (13-0, 1.000), Atlanta (9-4, .692), Milwaukee (9-4, .692) and Minnesota (9-4, .692).
Have not lost back-to-back games this season.
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: The Yankees dropped their series opener to the Twins, 11-2, on Thursday at Yankee Stadium… RHP Jhony Brito (0.2IP, 6H, 7ER, 1BB, 0K, 1HR) made his third career start and took the loss…1B Anthony Rizzo (3-for-4, 2R, 2HR, 2RBI) recorded his 21st career multi-HR game, hitting solo home runs in the fourth and ninth innings… SS Anthony Volpe (1-for-3) was the only other Yankee to collect a hit…CF Aaron Judge (0-for-3) had his career-high 45-game on-base streak snapped…RF Willie Calhoun (0-for-3) made his first career Major League appearance in right field…RHP Colten Brewer (3.1IP, 5H, 4ER, 1BB, 2K, 3HR, 1WP) allowed 4ER over 3.1 innings of relief…RHP Ian Hamilton (3.0IP, 1H, 1BB, 6K)
tossed a career-high 3.0 scoreless innings in relief…RHP Jimmy Cordero (1.0IP, 1K) tossed a scoreless eighth inning… Isiah Kiner-Falefa made his first career appearance as a pitcher and was the first Yankees position player to pitch in a game since Marwin Gonzalez on 9/2/22 at Tampa Bay.
SERIES BUSINESS: According to Elias, the Yankees have won their first four series of a season for just the fifth time in franchise history…won their first five series in 2010 and 1926 and also won their first four series in 1922 and 2020.
TWINNING: The Yankees are 98-39 (.715) vs. Minnesota since 2002, the Majors’ best record by any team vs. an opponent in its own league in that span…including the postseason, have gone 114-41 (.735) vs. the Twins since 2002.
Are 13-4 in their last 17 games vs. the Twins (since 7/23/19) and 23-8 in their last 31 games vs. Minnesota (since 9/18/17).
Have won 14 of their last 16 completed series vs. the Twins since 7/3/14.
Have won or split each of their last 20 completed season series with the Twins (18-0-2 since 2002)…have won each of their last 15 season series vs. the Twins…according to Elias, their streak of 15 straight winning seasons is tied for the fourth-longest streak vs. a single opponent in franchise history…trails only their 37-season streak vs. the Athletics (1932-68), 21-season streak vs. the Senators/Twins (1944-
64) and 18-season streak vs. the Browns (1926-43)…also recorded a 15-season streak vs. the Red Sox (1923-37).
Including the postseason, are 19-3 in their last 22 games vs. the Twins in the Bronx since 2017 and 24-4 vs. Minnesota at Yankee Stadium since 2015.
CENTRAL PERK: Since 2022, the Yankees are 27-10 (.730) vs. the AL Central…are 38-14 in their last 52 games vs. the division (since 6/23/21) and 51-20 in their last 71G (since 9/12/19).
Have won 20 of their last 23 completed series vs. the AL Central (since 9/10/19)…have won or split 23 of their last 26 completed series (going 21-3-2 since 6/13/19) and 26 of their last 30 completed series (going 24-4-2 in series since 4/18/19).
NOBODY BEATS THE RIZZ: INF Anthony Rizzo recorded his 21st career multi-HR game on Thursday, hitting a pair of solo home runs…marked his first multi-HR game since his 3HR game on 4/26/22 vs. Baltimore.
Set a season high with 3H on Thursday, collecting three of the Yankees’ four hits.
Has reached base in 11 of his first 12 games this season, batting .326/.423/.581 (14-for-43) with 7R, 2 doubles, 3HR, 8RBI, 6BB, 2HP and 1SF.
Is batting .361/.455/.667 (13-for-36) with 2 doubles, 3HR, 5BB, 2HP and 1SF vs. right-handed pitchers this season.
BIGGER PICTURE: Yankees pitchers allowed a season-high 11R after allowing just 33R over their first 12 games…despite their 11R on Thursday, have still allowed 3R-or-fewer in nine of their 13 games this year.
NASTY NESTOR: LHP Nestor Cortes will make his third start of the season today…is 2-0 with a 2.61 ERA (10.1IP, 3ER) in two starts this year.
Has allowed 2R-or-fewer in eight consecutive starts since 8/21/22, going 5-0 with a 1.65 ERA (43.2IP, 8ER)… marks the second-longest such streak of his career (9GS from 9/25/21-5/15/22)…if he were to allow 2R-or-fewer tonight, it would match the longest such streak by a Yankees starting pitcher in franchise history (excludes Chad Green’s 12-start streak as an opener from 6/11/17- 8/12/19-G2)…in addition to his own nine-start streak from 9/25/21-5/15/22, Luis Severino (9/12/18-4/20/22), Michael Pineda (4/5-9/5/14) and Art Ditmar (7/26-9/9/59) have all recorded nine-start streaks.
Has allowed 3R-or-fewer in each of his last 14 starts (since 7/14/22), tied for the sixth-longest such streak in franchise history…trails only Russ Ford (20GS from 8/9/1910-G2-5/27/1911-G2), his own 19-start streak (8/15/21-6/2/22-G1), Luis Severino (16GS from 4/16-7/7/18), Ron Guidry (15GS from 4/8-6/22/78) and Bob Shawkey (15GS from 6/15-9/7/1917-G2).
Has allowed 3R-or-fewer in 40-of-44 starts since the beginning of 2021 and 2R-or-fewer in 34 of those starts… in 52 appearances (44 starts) since the beginning of 2021, has gone 16-7 with a 2.61 ERA (261.2IP, 76ER), 274K and a .203 (194-for-957) opponents’ BA…his 2.61 ERA in that
span is the fourth-lowest in the Majors (min. 200.0IP), trailing only Max Scherzer (2.48), Julio Urias (2.52) and Shohei Ohtani (2.57).
Has allowed 3R-or-fewer in each of his last 23 starts at home (since 7/4/21-G2), the longest such streak by a Yankees starting pitcher in franchise history (next: Domingo Germán – 16GS from 4/1/19-6/6/21)…is the longest streak in the Majors (excluding openers) since Lance McCullers Jr. recorded a 27-start streak from 5/18/15-6/30/17 (Ryne Stanek had a 30-start streak from 5/26/18-7/3/19)… has gone 8-2 with a 2.31 ERA (128.2IP, 33ER) in that span… has allowed 2R-or-fewer in 19 of those 23 starts.
BRONX BOMBERS: Yankees batters have homered in 12-of-13 games this season…their 20HR are tied with Baltimore (20HR in 13G) for the fourth-most in the Majors, trailing only Tampa Bay (32HR in 13G), Los Angeles-NL (24HR in 13G) and San Francisco (21HR in 12G).
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: LHP NESTOR CORTES (2-0, 2.61 ERA)
LHP Nestor Cortes will make his third start of the season tonight vs. Minnesota…the 28-year old will make the start on regular four days’ rest…made his second start of the season on Sunday at Baltimore, earning the win after allowing 2ER in 5.1IP (4H, 2BB, 5K)…marked his eighth consecutive start of allowing 2R-or-fewer…has tossed 5.0IP-or-more with 2R-or-fewer in seven of those eight starts…made his season debut on Monday vs. Philadelphia, earning the win after allowing just 1R in 5.0IP (7H, 3K) in 2022, went 12-4 with a 2.44 ERA (158.1IP, 108H, 44R/43ER, 38BB, 16HR) and 163K in 28 starts for the Yankees…made 10 starts last season with 6.0-or-more innings pitched and 1R-or-fewer allowed… according to Elias, his 2.44 ERA was the third-lowest by a Yankees pitcher in a single season in the Divisional Era since 1969 (min. 25 games started), trailing only Ron Guidry’s 1.74 ERA in 1978 and Steve Jack Kline’s 2.40 ERA in 1972…was signed by the Yankees as a minor league free agent on 12/10/20… was originally selected by the Yankees in the 36th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft…was selected by the Baltimore Orioles from the Yankees in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft and returned to the Yankees on 4/13/18…was acquired by the Seattle Mariners from the Yankees in exchange for international bonus pool money on 11/25/19…over parts of five Major League seasons, has played with Baltimore (2018), the Yankees (2019, ’21-22) and Seattle (2020).
LAST TIME OUT: Made his second start of the season on Sunday at Baltimore, earning the win after allowing 2ER in 5.1IP (4H, 2BB, 5K)…marked his eighth consecutive start of allowing 2R-or-fewer…has tossed 5.0IP-or-more with 2R-or-fewer in seven of those eight starts…retired 15 of his first 19 batters faced before leaving two runners on base in the sixth inning.
ON A ROLL: Has allowed 2R-or-fewer in eight consecutive starts since 8/21/22, going 5-0 with a 1.65 ERA (43.2IP, 8ER)…marks the second-longest such streak of his career (9GS from 9/25/21-5/15/22)…if he were to allow 2R-or-fewer tonight, it would match the longest such streak by a Yankees starting pitcher in franchise history (excludes Chad Green’s 12-start streak as an opener from 6/11/17-8/12/19-G2)…in addition to his own nine-start streak from 9/25/21-5/15/22, Luis Severino (9/12/18-4/20/22), Michael Pineda (4/5-9/5/14) and Art Ditmar (7/26-9/9/59) have all recorded nine-start streaks.
Has allowed 3R-or-fewer in each of his last 14 starts (since 7/14/22), tied for the sixth-longest such streak in franchise history…trails only Russ Ford (20GS from 8/9/1910-G2-5/27/1911-G2), his own 19-start streak (8/15/21-6/2/22-G1), Luis Severino (16GS from 4/16-7/7/18), Ron Guidry (15GS from 4/8-6/22/78) and Bob Shawkey (15GS from 6/15-9/7/1917-G2).
Is undefeated in his last eight starts, matching his longest career undefeated streak as a starter (also 8GS from 6/26-8/10/22).
His current five-game winning streak also matches his career high (also won five straight decisions from 6/15-8/6/19).
The Yankees are 6-0 in his last six starts (since 9/14/22).
NASTY NESTOR: Has allowed 3R-or-fewer in 40-of-44 starts since the beginning of 2021 and 2R-or-fewer in 34 of those starts…in 52 appearances (44 starts) since the beginning of 2021, has gone 16-7 with a 2.61 ERA (261.2IP, 76ER), 274K and a .203 (194-for-957) opponents’ BA…his 2.61 ERA in that span is the second-lowest in the AL and the fourth-lowest in the Majors (min. 200.0IP)…his 0.99 WHIP in that span is the lowest in the AL and fifth-lowest in the Majors…his .203 opponents’ BA in that span is the sixth-lowest in the AL and 10th-lowest in the Majors over that span (min. 200.0IP).
Over his last 39 starts since 8/15/21, has gone 16-6 with a 2.60 ERA (218.1IP, 63ER), 228K and a .202 (161-for-799) opponents’ BA…has allowed 3R-or-fewer in 36 of those 39 starts, including 2R-or-fewer in 30 of those starts…his 2.60 ERA over that span is the seventh-lowest in the AL (min. 150.0IP).
VS. MINNESOTA: Will make his sixth career appearance (fourth start) against the Twins tonight…is 2-1 with a 4.35 ERA (20.2IP, 10ER) and 15K in five career appearances (three starts) vs. Minnesota.
Made two starts vs. the Twins in 2022, going 0-1 with a 6.48 ERA (8.1IP, 9H, 6ER, 5K, 2HR).
Has made three appearances (two starts) vs. the Twins at Yankee Stadium, going 1-0 with a 3.46 ERA (13.0IP, 9H, 5ER, 4BB, 11K, 1HR, 1HP).
As a starter, is 1-1 with a 4.70 ERA (15.1IP, 8ER) and 12K vs. the Twins.
Made his Major League debut vs. the Twins on 3/31/18 with Baltimore (2.0IP, 3H, 1ER, 2BB, 2K)…struck out Byron Buxton looking in the sixth inning for his first Major League strikeout.
HOME SWEET HOME: In 23 career starts at Yankee Stadium as a Yankee, is 8-2 with a 2.31 ERA (128.2IP, 33ER), 129K and a .190 opponents’ BA (87-for-458)…has allowed 3R-or-fewer in each of his last 23 starts at home (since 7/4/21-G2), the longest such streak by a Yankees starting pitcher in franchise history (next: Domingo Germán – 16GS from 4/1/19-6/6/21)…is the longest streak in the Majors (excluding openers) since Lance McCullers Jr. recorded a 27-start streak from 5/18/15-6/30/17 (Ryne Stanek had a 30-start streak from 5/26/18-7/3/19)…has gone 8-2 with a 2.31 ERA (128.2IP, 33ER) in that span…has allowed 2R-or-fewer in 19 of those 23 starts and has tossed at least 5.0IP with 2R-or-fewer in five his last six home starts.
Has gone 8-2 with a 2.14 ERA (139.0IP, 33ER) and 145K in 28 home games (23 starts) since 2021…his 2.14 ERA at Yankee Stadium is the fourth-lowest in the Majors among any pitcher at a single ballpark since 2021 (min. 100.0IP), trailing only Los AngelesAL’s Shohei Ohtani (1.81 ERA at Angel Stadium), Miami’s Sandy Alcantara (1.98 ERA at loanDepot park) and Milwaukee’s Brandon Woodruff (2.12 ERA at American Family Field).
2022: Went 12-4 with one complete-game shutout and a 2.44 ERA (158.1IP, 108H, 44R/43ER, 38BB, 163K, 16HR) in 28 starts…opponents hit .189/.241/.313 (108-for-572, 16HR); LH .110/.180/.159 (9-for-82, 1HR); RH .202/.251/.339 (99-for-490, 15HR)…recorded a career best in ERA and set career highs in starts, innings pitched and strikeouts…was named to his first career All-Star team.
Recorded a 2.44 ERA in 28 starts in 2022…according to Elias, his 2.44 ERA was the third-lowest ERA by a Yankee pitcher in a single season in the Divisional Era since 1969 (min. 25 games started), trailing only Ron Guidry’s 1.74 ERA in 1978 and Steve Jack Kline’s 2.40 ERA in 1972.
Among pitchers with 150.0IP in 2022, ranked second in the Majors in opponents’ OBP (.241, second in AL) and opponents’ OPS (.554, second in AL), third in WHIP (0.92, second in AL) and opponents’ BA (.189, second in AL), sixth in opponents’ SLG (.313, fourth in AL) and seventh in ERA (2.44, fifth in AL).
Among left-handed pitchers vs. left-handed batters (min. 65BF), owned the lowest opponents’ OPS (.338), ranked second in opponents’ batting average (second in AL), OBP (first in AL) and third in opponents’ SLG (second in AL).
Had five starts in 2022 where he had allowed just 1H over at least 5.0IP (1H in 6.0IP on 9/25 vs. Boston, 1H in 5.1IP on 8/5 at St. Louis, 1H in 7.1IP on 5/9 vs. Texas, 1H in 6.1IP on 4/23 vs. Cleveland and 1H in 7.1IP on 10/1 vs. Baltimore)…was the most such starts in a season by a Yankee in franchise history (previous: three such starts by Luis Severino in 2022, David Cone in 1999 and Scott Sanderson in 1991)…his five such starts were tied for the most in Major League history.
Allowed 3R-or-fewer in 25 of his 28 starts, including 2R-or-fewer in 21 starts and 1R-or-fewer in 15 starts… tossed seven scoreless starts.
144 of his strikeouts ended with a fastball, the most in the Majors (next: Gerrit Cole – 141K).
Allowed 3R-or-fewer in 19 consecutive starts from 8/15/21-6/2/22-G1, the second-longest streak in franchise history by a Yankees starting pitcher, trailing only Russ Ford (20 starts from 8/9/1910-G2-5/27/1911-G2)… allowed 2R-or-fewer in 16 of those 19 starts…went 7-3 with a 2.22 ERA (109.2IP, 27ER), 125K and a .200 (80-for401) opponents’ BA over that span.
Allowed 2R-or-fewer in nine consecutive starts from 9/25/21-5/15/22, tied with Luis Severino (nine starts from 9/12/18-4/20/22), Michael Pineda (nine starts from 4/5-9/5/14) and Art Ditmar (nine starts from 7/26-9/9/59) for the longest such streak in franchise history by a Yankees starting pitcher (excludes Chad Green’s 12-start streak as an opener from 6/11/17-8/12/19-G2).
Made his first three career postseason starts, going 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA (12.0IP, 6ER)…started on short rest in ALDS Game 5 vs. Cleveland and earned his first postseason win (5.0IP, 3H, 1ER, 1BB, 2K, 0HR)…was just the sixth Yankees starting pitcher to toss at least 5.0IP and allow 1R-or-fewer in a “winner-take-all” game, joining Gerrit Cole (5.1IP and 1R in 2020 ALDS Game 5 at Tampa Bay in San Diego), CC Sabathia (9.0IP and 1R in 2012 ALDS Game 5 vs. Baltimore), Roger Clemens (6.1IP and 1R in 2001 World Series Game 7 at Arizona), Ralph Terry (CGSHO in 1962 World Series Game 7 at San Francisco) and Johnny Kucks (CGSHO in 1956 World Series Game 7 at Brooklyn).
LEFT OUT TO DRY: Left-handed batters are hitting .154/.214/.231 (2-for-13) against him this season.
Lefties hit just .110/.180/.159 (9-for-82) against him in 2022…among left-handed pitchers vs. left-handed batters (min. 65BF), owned the lowest OPS (.338), ranked second in opponents’ batting average (second in AL), OBP (first in AL) and third in opponents’ SLG (second in AL).
Has retired 11-of-14 left-handed batters faced this season (2H, 1BB, 3K).
