The 101-win Twins and the 103-win Yankees face off beginning Friday, only 14th time that such successful regular-season teams have met in the postseason, and only the second time in a Division Series. So it's no surprise that the games are being scheduled so that they finish in prime time.
First pitch of Friday's game from Yankee Stadium will be at 6:07 p.m. Central time, MLB announced on Monday, and will be televised on MLB Network. Saturday's game has an earlier start and a different network — 4:07 p.m. on Fox Sports 1 — but the late innings should also extend into the hours with the largest audience.
Times for the rest of the series have not yet been set.
MLB also assigned umpiring crews, naming Gary Cederstrom, finishing his 31st season in the major leagues, as crew chief for Twins-Yankees. The other umpires are Todd Tichenor, Manny Gonzalez, Lance Barksdale, Eric Cooper and Adrian Johnson.
At last, a breather
The Twins took Monday off, and they will hold a workout Tuesday at Target Field before traveling to New York on Wednesday. After ending the season by winning six of their last seven games, a four-day gap without a game might seem less than ideal.
Unless you've been playing nearly every day for six months.
"We just endured and played through a long season. Our guys have played a ton of games," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "They have a lot of mileage on them. I don't think four days off will hurt us in any way."
In fact, insisted Sergio Romo, a veteran of three World Series runs with the Giants, it's a great benefit.