Breakdown: How Yankees have owned Twins
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There’s domination, and then there’s the Yankees and the Twins in the postseason. With their sweep-clinching 5-1 victory in Game 3 of the American League Division Series on Monday, the Yanks have won 13 straight postseason games against the Twins, the longest win streak by any team against a single opponent in postseason history. The stretch extends a bit beyond the postseason as well, as New York is 17-2 against Minnesota at Yankee Stadium since 2015, including the postseason.
Here’s a look at the Yankees’ dominance of the Twins in the postseason.
• As noted, the Yanks’ 13-game winning streak against the Twins is the longest by any team against another in postseason history. Saturday’s Game 2 win broke a tie with the Red Sox, who won 11 straight in the postseason against the Angels from 1986-2008.
| Game | Date | Result | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gm 1 | Oct. 4 | NYY 10, MIN 4 | Watch |
| Gm 2 | Oct. 5 | NYY 8, MIN 2 | Watch |
| Gm 3 | Oct. 7 | NYY 5, MIN 1 | Watch |
Shop for postseason gear: • Overall, New York is 16-2 against Minnesota in the postseason. That .889 winning percentage is the second highest by any team against a single opponent in the playoffs (minimum 10 games).
Highest win percentage vs. a single opponent in the playoffs (minimum 10 games)
Cardinals: .900 (9-1) vs. Padres
Yankees: .889 (16-2) vs. Twins
Red Sox: .800 (8-2) vs. Dodgers
Yankees: .800 (8-2) vs. Phillies
Phillies: .800 (8-2) vs. Cubs
• The Yankees now have a plus-53 run differential against the Twins in the postseason, the highest for one team against another in the playoffs (minimum 10 games).
• The Twins became the sixth 100-win team to be swept in its first series in a postseason, joining the 1980 Yankees, 1976 Phillies, 1971 A's, 1963 Yankees and 1954 Indians. It was just the third time that a postseason matchup between 100-win teams resulted in a sweep. The aforementioned '76 Phillies were swept by another 100-win team in the Reds, and the '71 A's were swept by a 100-win team in the Orioles.
• The Yankees outscored the Twins by 16 runs total in the series. That's tied for the second-highest run differential in any best-of-5 postseason series, behind the plus-17 run differential the Orioles had in defeating the Twins in the 1970 ALCS.
• The Twins have lost 16 straight postseason games -- these 13 to the Yankees, plus three to the A's in the 2006 ALDS. The 16-game skid ties the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (1975-79) for the longest postseason losing streak ever among the four major North American sports. Minnesota's last postseason victory was on Oct. 5, 2004, in Game 1 of the ALDS, against New York. Since Oct. 6, 2004, 27 teams have won at least one playoff game, 18 teams have won at least 10, and 10 teams have won at least 20.
• This is the sixth time that the Yankees and Twins have met in a postseason series (including the Wild Card Game as a "series"). It’s the 10th different matchup to happen at least five times in postseason history. In each of the other nine, both teams involved won at least one of the head-to-head series.
• The Twins have scored first in 10 of their 13 straight losses to the Yankees, including Game 1 of this year's ALDS.