Kansas City @ Minnesota preview
Target Field
Last Meeting ( Jun 9, 2010 ) Kansas City 2, Minnesota 6
Wins have been hard to come by lately for Minnesota Twins starter Scott Baker, but that's nothing a visit from the Kansas City Royals can't fix.
Baker looks to continue his dominance over the Royals on Thursday as the Twins look for a home sweep of their American League Central rivals. Minnesota is coming off a 6-2 triumph a night earlier that gave the Twins four wins in their past five games and helped them extend their division lead over the Detroit Tigers to 4 1/2 games.
Their chances for a sweep look promising with Baker (5-4) on the hill. The 28-year-old has been a pesky nemesis for the Royals in his career, going 8-3 with a 3.12 ERA. Baker's eight victories are the most he has logged against any major-league team.
He was typically efficient in his previous meeting with Kansas City, allowing just two runs in seven innings as Minnesota cruised to a 10-3 victory. But Baker has been cold of late, with just one win in his past five starts. He earned a no-decision in his last outing, surrendering four runs in 7 1/3 innings of a 5-4 win over the Oakland Athletics.
Minnesota used a balanced attack in last night's victory, as every batter in the lineup reached base and six different Twins hitters drove in a run. A night earlier, they handed defending Cy Young winner Zack Greinke his league-leading eighth loss of the season in a 7-3 triumph.
The Twins comfortably lead the division thanks to a solid showing in their first season at Target Field. Minnesota is 20-9 in its new ballpark, and ranks third in the American League in home batting average, trailing only the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers.
Despite the solid hitting stats, the Twins have had trouble going deep at their home field, hitting just 14 homers at Target Field. By comparison, the Toronto Blue Jays have hit a whopping 55 home runs at the Rogers Centre to lead all major-league teams.
The Twins might have difficulty increasing that number against Royals starter Bruce Chen (2-0). The journeyman left-hander hasn't given up a long ball in 18 1/3 innings this season, and is sporting a tidy 2.95 ERA.
Chen has been solid in his two starts this season, allowing just three runs over nine innings while striking out nine. He was a winner in his last outing, surrendering two runs in five innings to lead the Royals past the Detroit Tigers 7-3.
Following tonight's meeting, the teams will resume their respective interleague schedules. The Twins continue their nine-game homestand against the Atlanta Braves and Colorado Rockies, while the Royals visit the Cincinnati Reds before returning to Kansas City for a series with the Houston Astros.