NEW YORK -- Friday night at Yankee Stadium, the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins will open their best-of-five American League Championship Series. The AL East champion Yankees went 103-59 during the regular season and thus have homefield advantage. The Twins went 101-61 to win the AL Central.

"I'm excited about it," Aaron Judge told reporters, including MLB.com's Bryan Hoch, this past weekend. "I've faced them once already in the postseason (2017 AL Wild Card Game). I think they've got a better team this year. Better rotation, better lineup. You can tell by the home run power they have. I'm excited about our chances. We go out there and we play our game, we'll get the results we want."

While talking to reporters, including John Shipley of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli added: "If you enjoy baseball in 2019. I think you will definitely enjoy this series. ... I would expect nothing to change (from the season series). I would expect to see some games like we've already seen."

Here is the ALDS schedule for the Yankees vs. Twins series:

DATEMATCHUP/RESULTTIME (ET)TVVENUE

Oct. 4

Game 1: Minnesota at N.Y. Yankees

7 p.m.

MLBN

Yankee Stadium

Oct. 5

Game 2: Minnesota at N.Y. Yankees

5 p.m.

FS1

Yankee Stadium

Oct. 7

Game 3: N.Y. Yankees at Minnesota

TBA

FS1 or MLBN

Target Field

Oct. 8

Game 4: N.Y. Yankees at Minnesota*

TBA

FS1

Target Field

Oct. 10

Game 5: Minnesota at N.Y. Yankees*

TBA

FS1

Yankee Stadium

* - if necessary

The Yankees and Twins finished first and second in runs scored this season, respectively, and 11th and 14th in runs allowed per game, also respectively. Translation: These are two great offenses and two middle of the road pitching staffs. That could make for a high-scoring ALDS.

Here are six things you need to know going into the Yankees vs. Twins ALDS matchup.

1. The season series was full of action

As non-division rivals, the Yankees and Twins played two three-game series this season, and they were action-packed. Especially the three games in Target Field. New York won two of three in each series, outscoring the Twins 43-38 in the six games. Here is the season series recap:

At Yankee Stadium

At Target Field

That July 23 game is a Game of the Year candidate. It featured six lead changes -- four in the final three innings! -- and six home runs, and the game ended on this Catch of the Year candidate from former Twin Aaron Hicks:

If the season series tells us anything about the ALDS, it's that it could be a high-scoring series with back-and-forth games, and that makes for exciting baseball.

2. The Yankees have a big edge, historically

Boy do they ever. The Yankees and Twins have met five times in the postseason previously, and the results have been decidedly one-sided. Look at this:

  • 2003 ALDS: Yankees win 3-1
  • 2004 ALDS: Yankees win 3-1
  • 2009 ALDS: Yankees win 3-0
  • 2010 ALDS: Yankees win 3-0
  • 2017 AL Wild Card Game: Yankees win

The Yankees are 13-2 all-time against the Twins in the postseason, and both losses were to peak Johan Santana. Furthermore, the Yankees are 87-35 (.713) against the Twins in the regular season since 2002. That is the highest winning percentage any team has against any other team during that time (min. 100 games played).

What does all that head-to-head history mean now? Pretty much nothing. Different players, different managers, difference teams, different years. These Twins are very -- very -- different from those mid-to-late-2000s Twins teams, which were built around pitch-to-contact starters and small ball. The current Twins are much better equipped to beat the Yankees than those teams.

"I don't think any of our guys care one bit about what has happened here previously," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said earlier this week.

'I don't get caught up in that. Teams change," Boone added. 

3. The two teams combined for 613 home runs

Home run records across baseball were shattered this year, and this season the Yankees and Twins became the first two teams in history to hit 300 home runs in a season. They finished 1-2 in homers. The leaderboard:

  1. Minnesota Twins: 307 homers
  2. New York Yankees: 306
  3. Houston Astros: 288
  4. Los Angeles Dodgers: 279
  5. Oakland Athletics: 257

The Twins scored 51.2 percent of their runs on home runs this season, third highest in baseball, and the Yankees were right behind them at 51.1 percent. There is nothing wrong with being home run reliant in the postseason. Not at all. YES Network statistician James Smyth ran the numbers earlier this year. His conclusion:

The Yankees and Twins both hit a ton of home runs and I fully expect five low-scoring games a ton of home runs in the ALDS. That's what these two teams do. They hit the ball over the fence. There's no reason to think that will change in October.

"Who knows?" I mean, we're in the era of home runs, and if they happen during the playoffs, it makes it all that more dramatic," Twins catcher Mitch Garver told Shipley.

4. The starting rotations are fluid

Both the Yankees and Twins declined to name their ALDS pitching plans during Wednesday's workout day, and given the state of their rotations, it's not all that easy to piece them together. The Yankees could go with this plan:

Tanaka has an enormous home/road split this season (3.10 ERA vs 6.05 ERA), so the Yankees could move him up into Game 2 to keep him away from Target Field. It seems more likely they'll go with Paxton and Severino, their top two starters, in Games 1 and 2 in either order. Paxton has been great the last two months and Severino has been the team's best pitcher since 2017.

Domingo German's recent suspension and CC Sabathia's ongoing knee trouble, not to mention the team's trade deadline inactivity, leaves New York with no good option for Game 4. Happ had a tough regular season and was among the league leaders in homers allowed, making him a bad matchup against the Twins. Most likely, the Yankees will see how Game 3 goes, and if at all possible, they'll bullpen Game 4. If not, Happ it is.

As for the Twins, they'll be without Michael Pineda (performance-enhancing drug suspension) in the ALDS, and a late-season injury limited Kyle Gibson to mostly relief work in September. Martin Perez has struggled greatly following a great April and May. My guess -- and I emphasize this is just a guess -- is Minnesota will line up their ALDS rotation like so:

The other rotation options include rookie Randy Dobnak (four runs in 16 1/3 innings in three September starts) and lefty Devin Smeltzer. Both men could factor into Games 3-4, which could very well turn into true bullpen games rather than an opener situation. That's where Minnesota's rotation is at right now.

On paper, the Yankees have the pitching edge going into the ALDS because Paxton was so good in the second half and Severino looked great in his late season return from injury. Berrios and Odorizzi are no slouches though, and opener/bullpen games have a way of stifling even the best lineups. The ALDS is going to feature some very creative pitching strategies, I know that much.

5. Minnesota's bullpen is sneaky good

In pretty much every series they play, the Yankees go in with the bullpen advantage. Aroldis Chapman has been nails as the closer, and the three-headed setup monster of Zack Britton, Tommy Kahnle, and Adam Ottavino is as good as any setup unit in the game. That foursome combined for 1.98 ERA with 314 strikeouts in 246 innings. Dominant.

The Twins are not that stacked in the bullpen, no team is, but their bullpen was very good this season, especially in the second half. They added veteran slider specialist Sergio Romo at the trade deadline, and righty Zack Littell came into his own after being moved to the bullpen full-time in June. Littell, coincidentally enough, came over from the Yankees in the Jaime Garcia trade in 2017.

Add-in multi-inning dynamo Chad Green and New York's top five relievers are as good as it gets. Minnesota's top five isn't too shabby either:

PITCHERIPERAWHIPK/9BB/9HR/9

RHP Tyler Duffey

57 2/3

2.50

1.01

12.8

2.2

1.2

RHP Zack Littell

37

2.68

1.16

7.8

2.2

1.0

RHP Trevor May

64 1/3

2.94

1.07

11.1

3.6

1.1

LHP Taylor Rogers

69

2.61

1.00

11.7

1.4

1.0

RHP Sergio Romo*

60 1/3

3.43

1.11

9.0

2.5

1.0

* combined totals with Marlins and Twins

Baldelli is more than willing to use Rogers, his closer, for more than one inning. Seventeen times in 60 regular season appearances he recorded at least four outs, and nine times he threw two full innings. I have to imagine using Rogers for five or six outs is on the table in the ALDS. He gives the Twins their best chance to prevail in the late innings.

Keep in mind pitching staffs shrink in the postseason. No team uses their fifth starter or their mop-up reliever in anything other than an emergency. They stick to their very best pitchers and that means the Yankees will see plenty of Duffey, Littell, May, Rogers, and Romo this series. The Twins may not have the big names in the bullpen like the Yankees, but their relief crew is very good.

"I think we have one of the best bullpens I've ever seen. I believe that," Baldelli told reporters, including Zone Coverage's Brandon Warne, earlier this week.

6. Both teams are banged up

The Yankees have dealt with injuries all season long -- they put a record number of players on the injured list this year -- so it is only fitting they'll go into the ALDS at less than 100 percent health. Outfielders Aaron Hicks (elbow) and Mike Tauchman (calf) suffered season-ending injuries late in the year, as did setup man Dellin Betances (Achilles).

Here are the Yankees heading into the ALDS nursing some sort of ailment:

  • LHP James Paxton: Exited his final start with nerve irritation in his glute.
  • DH Edwin Encarnacion: Out since Sept. 12 with an oblique strain.
  • C Gary Sanchez: Out Sept. 12-25 with a groin strain. Caught 11 innings last weekend.
  • 3B Gio Urshela: Twisted his ankle in Game 162 on Sunday.

All four are expected to be on the ALDS roster, though the extent of their availability and effectiveness is unknown. Chances are Sanchez will catch every inning and Urshela will man the hot corner in the ALDS, but Encarnacion is a real question. He was expected to play in the final series this past weekend but couldn't do it.

"We expect him to be available Friday, but until we get him through some (simulated games) Tuesday and Wednesday, that'll be the final determination," GM Brian Cashman told reporters, including MLB.com's Bryan Hoch, over the weekend. "So that's an example of something we're optimistic, but we need more information before we make the final call."

Of course, the Twins aren't 100 percent healthy either. In fact, they're even more banged up than the Yankees. Center field ballhawk Byron Buxton and righty reliever Sam Dyson are done for the season following shoulder surgery, and several players are coming off injuries as they head into the ALDS:

  • UTIL Luis Arraez: Suffered a Grade 1 ankle sprain in Game 161.
  • UTIL Marwin Gonzalez: Hasn't played since Sept. 22 due to an oblique injury.
  • OF Max Kepler: Hasn't taken an at-bat since Sept. 14 due to a shoulder injury.

The Twins often played Jake Cave and Ryan LaMarre in the outfield down the stretch while Buxton, Gonzalez, and Kepler were sidelined. Their ALDS statuses remain up in the air --  "I'm still optimistic. I think he's going to be feeling good and even better as the week goes on," Baldelli told Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press regarding Kepler -- and, even if they are on the roster, it's unclear how effective they will be. Same with Encarnacion, Paxton, and Urshela.