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Twins-Yankees Preview

May 15, 2009 - 5:02 AM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

Minnesota (17-17) at New York (16-17), 7:05 p.m. EDT

Road games against the New York Yankees have been tough for the Minnesota Twins in recent years. Opponents, though, have seemed very comfortable at the new Yankee Stadium this month.

The Twins open a four-game series Friday night against a New York club in danger of losing six straight at home for the first time in six years.

Minnesota (18-17) is coming off a three-game sweep of Detroit, but a trip to New York could end its momentum in a hurry. The Twins have lost four straight and 19 of 22 road games against the Yankees (17-17), posting a 5.52 ERA during that stretch.

New York, though, has had a terrible time at its new home, losing five in a row after winning six of its first eight there. The Yankees haven't lost six consecutive home contests since an eight-game skid in May 2003.

Woeful pitching has been a big factor in that poor play at the new park, where New York has a 6.59 ERA and has allowed 24 home runs. The hitter-friendly park has yielded 47 homers overall.

That could be a problem for struggling Yankees right-hander Phil Hughes (1-2, 8.49 ERA), who lasted just 1 2-3 innings and surrendered eight runs in his most recent outing, a 12-5 loss at Baltimore on Saturday. His third start of the season was the shortest of his career.

This will be Hughes' first appearance against Minnesota.

The Yankees got just enough offense to win their last game, 3-2 over Toronto on Thursday night. Derek Jeter and Hideki Matsui returned from nagging injuries and delivered key hits.

Jeter, who missed two games with a sore right oblique, tied the score with an RBI single in the seventh. Matsui put the Yankees ahead with a solo homer in the eighth after missing a game due to a tight right hamstring.

"You know I don't like watching so it was good to get back out there," Jeter said.

Minnesota has certainly gotten its share of clutch hitting during its last two games.

Joe Crede helped the Twins come back from a five-run deficit Thursday, hitting a two-run, two-out single during a six-run seventh inning in a 6-5 win over Detroit. The day before, Crede's walk-off grand slam in the 13th inning gave Minnesota a 14-10 victory.

The third baseman has two homers and eight RBIs in his last three games as he's rebounded from a slow start and taken some pressure off teammates Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer.

"You're not totally reliant on yourself to get the job done," Cuddyer said. "You can rely on the guy hitting behind you and the guy hitting behind him."

The Twins had a big game at the plate to help Francisco Liriano (2-4, 5.75) win his last outing. Liriano allowed five runs in five innings of a 9-6 victory over Seattle on Saturday.

This will be Liriano's first career start against New York. He faced the Yankees in relief April 15, 2006, pitching 1 2-3 hitless innings during a 6-5 Twins win.

New York went 6-4 against Minnesota last season.