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Minnesota Twins put a season-high six-game win streak on the line and attempt to continue their recent mastery over National League teams in tonight's opener of a three-game set with the homestanding
San Diego Padres from Petco Park.
Minnesota moved to 9-3 in interleague play this season after winning all three matchups with the NL West-leading Arizona Diamondbacks heading into this series. The surge has closed the Twins within 1 1/2 games of the first-place Chicago White Sox, who were swept by the Cubs over the weekend, in the American League Central race.
The Twins completed the sweep of the floundering Diamondbacks with Sunday's 5-3 triumph, with Minnesota scoring all its runs off Arizona ace Brandon Webb during the fifth inning.
Brian Buscher and Alexi Casilla each came through with two-run singles during the frame, which enabled ex-Diamondback Livan Hernandez to defeat the team he spent the previous two seasons with.
Hernandez (8-4) allowed three runs -- one earned -- on nine hits over the first seven innings, with Jesse Crain and Joe Nathan preserving the victory with a scoreless frame of relief each.
The Twins last won seven consecutive contests during an 11-game winning streak from June 22-July 3, 2006. The club faces a tough challenge in its goal to keep the run alive, however, as the Padres will send reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy to the hill in tonight's opener.
Peavy has had mixed results in his two starts since returning from a month- long stay on the disabled list with a strained elbow. The standout pitcher fired six shutout innings to beat the Dodgers at home on June 12, but labored through four frames in an 8-5 loss to the Mets in New York this past Wednesday.
Against the Mets, Peavy surrendered four runs (3 earned) and six hits while walking a pair of batters. He was removed after throwing 93 pitches, only 55 of which went for strikes.
A re-acquaintance with the Petco Park mound might get Peavy back on track, as he has amassed an outstanding 1.26 earned run average in six home starts this season and has limited enemy hitters to a .161 average in San Diego.
Peavy did not earn a decision in his lone career start against Minnesota, which came at the old Qualcomm Stadium on June 6, 2003. He gave up three runs over 6 2/3 innings in that outing.
Kevin Slowey, who has played a key role in Minnesota's recent hot streak, gets the assignment for the Twins this evening. The young righty has won back-to- back interleague starts over Milwaukee and Washington and yielded just three runs in 14 innings of work during that strong stretch.
Slowey held the Nationals to a run and seven hits through six frames on Wednesday, which improved him to 3-1 with a 3.48 ERA in five career starts against the NL. The second-year major leaguer has never previously faced San Diego.
The Twins enter tonight's tilt with a lackluster 15-20 season road record and have dropped seven of their 10 games as the visitor this month. All of Minnesota's victories during its current tear have come at the Metrodome.
San Diego, on the other hand, hasn't won much at home or on the road as of late. The Padres come in having lost six of their last seven contests and share last place in the NL West with Colorado at the moment.
After winning the opener of a three-game home set with Detroit on Friday, the Padres fell in their final two encounters with the Tigers, including Sunday's 5-3 setback.
San Diego starter Randy Wolf (5-6) struck out a season-high 10 batters in the finale, but allowed three runs -- two earned -- over his six-inning stint to suffer the loss.
Adrian Gonzalez and Khalil Greene each finished with two hits and an RBI for the Padres, while Jody Gerut ended 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles.
These teams have split six lifetime meetings, with the Twins taking two of three from the Padres in San Diego back in 2003.
