Yankee Stadium dazzles Twins youngsters

NEW YORK ‑ It didn't take long for Chris Herrmann to realize that being in Yankee Stadium is a unique experience.

He was catching bullpen sessions early Monday afternoon when fans started yelling at him, calling him by his first name.

"How do they know my name?" Herrmann said, "I'm not famous."

Herrmann is one of a handful of Twins playing in Yankee Stadium for the first time. They were immersed in one of the most electric atmospheres in sports, where anything can happen — and anything can be said.

Eddie Rosario said he was ready to take whatever the crowd had to offer.

"They call me everything already," Rosario said between chuckles.

Rosario, from Guayama, Puerto Rico, was excited to play in Yankee Stadium for other reasons. He had about 10 friends and family up from his hometown to watch him play this week.

When asked if he ever attended games at Yankee Stadium, lefthander Ryan O'Rourke pointed out that he grew up in Massachusetts and was a Red Sox fan.

"We don't do that where I come from," he said.

Righthander Tyler Duffey, who's from Houston and grew up an Astros fan, attended a game at old Yankee Stadium with his father when he was in middle school and called the experience ''incredible.'' He planned to visit the monuments behind the center field wall Tuesday. He's not scheduled to pitch during the series, but he's still excited to be in the stadium. He said he had a poster of Alex Rodriguez on his wall when the All-Star was with the Rangers.

"It's crazy seeing people I've watched forever," Duffey said.

Twins manager Paul Molitor said he was interested in seeing how his young players handle themselves during this series.

Ryan Pressly was on the comeback trail from a lat strain that has kept him out since July 5. But something went wrong when he tried to get through long toss drills last week at Target Field.

"He did not respond to that favorably," Twins General Manager Terry Ryan said. "We've had to go backwards."

Ryan sounded disappointed as he doubted that Pressly, 3-2 with a 2.93 ERA in 27 games, could return before the season ends.

"There won't be enough time," Ryan said.

• Both Phil Hughes (sore back) and Blaine Boyer (sore right elbow) are making pro-gress with their injuries. Hughes has seen positive results following the epidural he received late last week, but has not tried to throw yet. Boyer played catch on Monday.

• The league announced Monday that the AL Wild Card game will be played on Oct. 6 and be televised by ESPN. The NL Wild Card game will be played on Oct. 7 and be televised on TBS.