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Minnesota Twins' first three-game losing streak in a month hasn't come at a good time. Ron Gardenhire's club hopes to quickly right itself in tonight's matchup with the
Seattle Mariners from Safeco Field.
After dropping back-to-back tests against the American League West-leading Angels over the weekend, Minnesota fell in extra innings to the cellar- dwelling Mariners in Monday's opener of this three-game series. It's the Twins' longest skid since they lost five in a row from July 20-25.
With Chicago finishing out a suspended-game loss against Baltimore on Monday, then defeating the Orioles in last night's regularly-scheduled contest, the Twins now sit one game behind the White Sox for first place in the AL Central.
Seattle came through last night in dramatic fashion, as Adrian Beltre slammed a game-winning two-run homer off Jesse Crain with one out in the bottom of the 11th inning.
Beltre finished 2-for-5 with the homer and scored twice to lead the Mariners to their third win in four games. The third baseman also started a ninth- inning rally with a leadoff double off Twins closer Joe Nathan, and crossed the plate on a double-play grounder later in the frame to tie the contest at 2-2.
Both starting pitchers, Minnesota's Francisco Liriano and the Mariners' Miguel Batista, allowed just one run and five hits over the game's first six innings.
With the Twins' bullpen struggling as of late, the club made a move to strengthen the relief corps by acquiring Eddie Guardado from Texas on Monday in exchange for minor league pitcher Mark Hamburger. The veteran left-hander joined the team prior to last night's game and pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Guardado spent his first 11 major league seasons with Minnesota from 1993-2003 and is the franchise's all-time leader with 639 appearances. The 37-year-old was 3-3 with a 3.65 earned run average and four saves in 55 games with the Rangers.
The Twins are in the midst of a 14-game, four-city road trip and have gone 2-3 so far on the massive trek. Minnesota is just 28-34 as the visitor this season.
Scott Baker started off the team's long road trip with an excellent eight- inning stint at Anaheim on Thursday, and the right-hander hopes to match that effort when he toes the rubber tonight.
Baker limited the Angels to one run and four hits in that start, although he wound up without a win or a loss in a game the Twins prevailed in 12 innings. It was the fourth straight no-decision for Baker, who is 7-3 with a 3.74 ERA in 21 starts for the year.
The Oklahoma State product has never defeated the Mariners over his four-year career, having posted an 0-2 record and a 5.83 ERA in five previous starts versus Seattle. Baker has faced the Mariners twice already this month and surrendered 10 runs in 10 2/3 innings during a pair of no-decisions.
Ryan Rowland-Smith gets the assignment tonight for Seattle and is coming off the best start of his brief major league career. The native Australian yielded one run and four hits while striking out six over a personal-best seven innings Thursday against Oakland, although he received a hard-luck loss in his team's 1-0 setback.
Rowland-Smith has made three starts since being recalled from the minors earlier this month and is 0-1 with a 5.09 ERA in those games. One of the outings came against Minnesota, a no-decision on August 16 in which he gave up five runs and 10 hits in five innings.
The 25-year-old had faced the Twins twice in relief prior to his recent start against them.
Minnesota swept a three-game series from Seattle at the Metrodome from August 15-17, but the Mariners have taken three of the four meetings between the clubs at Safeco Field this season.
