Southpaw Brian Duensing is 4-1 since joining Minnesota’s starting rotation.
The Minnesota Twins were 46-42 and sitting in third place, three games behind the first-place
Detroit Tigers in the
AL Central standings the last time these two rivals met on July 11. The Tigers had just taken two of three from the Twins to raise their record to 48-38.
What a difference six weeks makes. Fast forward to the upcoming three-game series between these two clubs that starts Tuesday in Minnesota. The Twins are now perched atop the division with a 10-game lead over the third-place Tigers.
Minnesota has gone 30-14 since July 11, while the Tigers have struggled to a 22-28 ledger. As a result, the Twins are getting ready to play some meaningful baseball in September, while the Tigers are starting five rookies in the lineup in hopes of formulating their 2011 roster.
The Twins made their revamped bullpen more versatile for the pennant race by acquiring left-handed reliever and four-time All-Star Brian Fuentes from the Los Angeles Angels for a player to be named.
Fuentes was 4-1 with a 3.52 ERA and was 23 for 27 converting saves this season for the slumping Angels, who were 9 1/2 games out of first place in the AL West at the time of the trade.
Manager Ron Gardenhire said before Friday's series opener at Seattle that he will use the now-former Angels closer as a set up man for closer Matt Capps.
Capps entered Friday with six saves in eight chances since Minnesota acquired him in a trade with Washington last month.
Minnesota gave away a chance to take a season-high lead of 5 ½ games over the second-place White Sox in the AL Central on Sunday when they dropped a 2-1 decision to the Seattle Mariners.
Brian Duensing (7-2, 2.19 ERA) will get the ball for the Twins for Tuesday's opener of this three-game set. The 27-year-old southpaw started this campaign in the bullpen before joining the starting rotation on July 23.
Duensing promptly went 4-0 in his first six starts before suffering a 4-3 loss at Texas as a 140 underdog last Wednesday in his most recent start. He allowed four runs on six hits in six innings spanning 99 pitches.
The 5-foot-11 Kansas native has faced the Tigers twice out of the bullpen this season and did not allow a run in 1 2/3 innings. He yielded just one hit while walking three batters and fanning two.
While the Tigers appear to have faded from the playoff picture, they have captured seven of their past nine games. Detroit has tabbed Armando Galarraga for Tuesday's tilt.
Galarraga has allowed just one run over his past two outings, a span of 13 1/3 innings, striking out 12 while allowing eight hits and two walks.
However, the 28-year-old right-hander struggled in his only appearance against the Twins this season. He allowed six earned runs on seven hits and two walks over four innings spanning 91 pitches on June 29 en route to an 11-4 loss as a 130 road underdog. The combined 15 runs catapulted ‘over' the 9 ½-run closing total.
Joe Mauer and Denard Span have a great deal of success against Galarraga in their careers. Mauer is batting .450 (9-for-20) with two home runs, 10 RBIs and five walks against him, while Span is hitting .563 (9-for-16) with four RBIs and two walks.
Most offshore sports books monitored by the Don Best odds product opened the Twins as 160 home favorites for Tuesday's opener, with the total set at 8 ½ runs.
The Twins are 7-5 in 12 meetings against the Tigers this season, with the ‘over' going 6-5-1.
Detroit is a dismal 22-41 in its first 63 road dates, while Minnesota is a nifty 40-22 in its first 62 efforts at new Target Field.
The Twins have a plus-101 run differential thanks to outscoring the opposition 629-528. The Tigers have a minus-13 run differential, as they are getting outscored 602-589.
Don't forget to check the weather forecast for this contest, as well as all of Tuesday's baseball action.