I was obviously disappointed that the Twins jumped out to a two-run lead early in Game 1 of the Division Series and ended up losing 7-2, but you had to kind of expect that after their marathon-extra-inning-high-emotion-division-winning-one-game-playoff-tiebreaker against Detroit the night before.

If they play that game 10 times in that situation, I’d wager they lose 10 times. Just too many outside factors coming into play other than the game itself.

But that’s not the case tonight, and this is trap game for the New York Yankees.

The Twins’ Nick Blackburn and Yankees’ A.J. Burnett are both making their first career Playoff Start, but Blackburn’s been in the same type of situation before in the one-game playoff last season versus the White Sox. The Twins came out on the losing end in that one, but not because of his pitching performance in the 1-0 loss.

Burnett has top-end talent and stuff, but can be wild be at times (2nd in MLB in Walks given up in 2009), which bodes well for the Twins in a game he most certainly will be nervous for. Its the nature of the beast with New York, and has been their downfall in years past: The expectations.

The 6-1 odds of the Yankees winning the Division Series shrinks drastically if the Twins pull this one out and head to “Mall of America Field” at the Houdini-Dome tied at one game apiece. That building and its fans will not let this Twins team go down easily, especially against the Evil Empire. And I’m speaking from experience as I attended the one-game playoff. The crowd was the difference in that game as it was louder than any Vikings game I’ve ever been too, with 10,000 less fans, and the Homer Hanky’s were in full force willing them to victory.

This effect will be magnified even more against the team everyone loves to hate (especially in Minnesota) and on the field where every game is possibly the last one ever played on that Turf.

On to the Matchup:

Yankees lead Series 1-0.

Minnesota Twins: RHP Nick Blackburn (11-11), 4.03 ERA, 98 K’s, 41 BB’s in 205.2 IP.

1. Denard Span, RF
2. Orlando Cabrera, SS
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Jason Kubel, DH
5. Michael Cuddyer, 1B
6. Delmon Young, LF
7. Carlos Gomez, CF
8. Matt Tolbert, 3B
9. Nick Punto, 2B

New York Yankees: RHP A.J. Burnett (13-9), 4.04 ERA, 195 K’s, 97 BB’s in 207.0 IP.

1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Johnny Damon, LF
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Hideki Matsui, DH
6. Nick Swisher, RF
7. Robinson Cano, 2B
8. Melky Cabrera, CF
9. Jose Molina, C

Look for the Recap after Game 2, ’til then, Go Twins!