In what could be his final start for the Twins, his team is asking nothing less from Jake Odorizzi than this: Save our season.
And the veteran righthander relishes the challenge.
"I'm ready. I've seen [the Yankees] plenty over the years," Odorizzi said last week. "There are no secrets to have between the teams."
And there aren't many secrets about facing the veteran righthander, whose contract expires when the Twins' season does, either. Get to him early, or face the consequences. Odorizzi has recorded at least 16 outs in 21 of his 30 starts this season — and the Twins are 19-2 when he does.
"We've had him come up in about four or five really big games this year, where we just needed a really quality outing, and he's responded every single time," reliever Trevor May said. "He matched up with [Houston ace Justin] Verlander in the 1-0 win earlier this year. He's been a rock. … He's been that guy all year. I don't think there's anyone else we'd rather have in this situation."
We will never know whether they would be in this situation — trailing 2-0 in the Division Series after being outscored 18-6 during an awful weekend in the Bronx — had they chosen Odorizzi to start Saturday's game. The Twins supported rookie starter Randy Dobnak with only two runs against Masahiro Tanaka and four relievers, after all, dooming them to their 15th consecutive postseason loss and 12th in a row to New York.
But Odorizzi, while careful not to question his manager's decision, hinted he would have welcomed the chance.
"I've pitched [in Yankee Stadium] a lot more than other people," said Odorizzi, who threw six shutout innings there in May and owns a 4.47 career ERA against New York. "I got a full crash course when I was a rookie, just learning how to pitch here and trying to be successful."