Boston @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( May 9, 2011 ) Minnesota 1, Boston 2

THE STORY: Tim Wakefield and Jim Thome are each closing in on milestones. The two veterans will face off on Monday when Wakefield and the American League East-leading Boston Red Sox visit Thome’s Minnesota Twins. Wakefield will make his third attempt at recording his 200th career win, while Thome will try to move closer to 600 career home runs. The Red Sox are coming off an emotional 3-2, 10-inning win over the New York Yankees that helped them regain sole possession of first place. The Twins, meanwhile, are looking to end a four-game skid.

TV: 7:10 pm. ET, ESPN, Fox Sports North (Minnesota)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Twins RH Scott Baker (8-6, 3.01 ERA) vs. Red Sox RH Tim Wakefield (6-4, 4.99)

Baker had been 6-2 with a 1.64 ERA over his last eight starts before suffering his shortest outing of the season on Wednesday against the Angels. The righthander allowed four runs and five hits in three innings of an 11-4 win. Baker held Boston to two runs and seven hits in eight innings of a 9-2 win on May 5. It was his first win in four starts against the Red Sox. Jacoby Ellsbury is 5-for-12 against him.

Wakefield, who turned 45 last Tuesday, is looking to become the oldest pitcher to win 200 games. The knuckleballer carried a 3-2 lead into the seventh inning against Cleveland on Wednesday but left after allowing a game-tying double. Wakefield was rocked for six runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings of a 9-2 loss to Minnesota on May 6. Joe Mauer is hitting .357 (5-for-14) with a homer and three RBIs vs. Wakefield. Thome hasn’t fared as well against him (10-for-58, three homers, six RBIs).

ABOUT THE TWINS (51-63): The two-time defending AL Central champions are unlikely to win a third straight division title. Minnesota, which was outscored 18-4 while being swept by Chicago over the weekend, trails Detroit by 10 games. Thome had his 10-game hitting streak snapped on Sunday. He is two homers shy of becoming the eighth player to hit 600 home runs. Justin Morneau (neck surgery), who’s been out since June 9, began a rehab assignment on Friday. Catcher Joe Mauer has made 11 starts at first base with Morneau out. Mauer, who missed 57 games with “bilateral leg weakness,” has just one hit in his last 11 at bats.

ABOUT THE RED SOX (70-43): The Red Sox head into the Twin Cities riding a wave of momentum after a come-from-behind win over their archrivals. Josh Reddick’s walk-off single in the 10th gave Boston its first season series win over New York since 2004. Carl Crawford went 3-for-4 on Sunday and has hit in nine of his last 10 at bats. He hit in seven straight plate appearances before grounding out to second in the fourth. Crawford is 7-for-17 against Baker. Shortstop Jed Lowrie, who has been out since June 16 with a shoulder injury, is expected to return Monday. Former Twin David Ortiz has 51 extra-base hits this season. He is the only player to record at least 50 extra-base hits in each of the last 10 seasons (Albert Pujols and Carlos Lee have done it each of the last nine seasons).

FINAL PITCH: Sunday’s loss to Chicago was Minnesota’s 28th at home, matching their total from all of last season. The Twins went an AL-best 53-28 at Target Field in 2010.