Minnesota @ Kansas City preview
Kauffman Stadium
Last Meeting ( Apr 24, 2010 ) Minnesota 9, Kansas City 7
Three times already this season the Minnesota Twins have had a chance to sweep a series. All three times, they failed.
It’s about the only thing that has gone wrong during Minnesota’s blistering start. The Twins have won all six series they’ve played this season and get a fourth shot at a sweep today against Kansas City.
Minnesota has a chance to open a sizeable gap within the AL Central Division if it remains at this current pace. The Twins are in the midst of playing 18 consecutive games within the division. They’re already 6-2 within the Central and won’t play a team outside the division until hosting Baltimore for a weekend series May 6-9.
Even when Minnesota fails, it manages to succeed. Closer Jon Rauch blew his first save of the season on Saturday, but still got the win in the Twins’ 9-7 win in 12 innings. By converting his first six save opportunities, Rauch has bought himself a few rough outings as the Twins’ closer.
Minnesota’s bullpen as a whole continues to be a big reason why the Twins are one of the best teams in baseball. After Nick Blackburn was knocked out early, five relievers combined Saturday for 5 2-3 scoreless innings. Add in Rauch and Minnesota’s relievers allowed one run in 7 2-3 innings against a Royals team that is hitting the ball better than expected.
Kansas City’s top four batters – David DeJesus, Scott Podsednik, Billy Butler and Jose Guillen – are all batting above .300. No. 5 hitter Alberto Callaspo isn’t far behind at .290.
The Royals did catch a bad break Saturday, though, when Rick Ankiel was forced to leave with a mild strain in his right quadriceps. He was replaced by Mitch Maier and will be re-evaluated before today’s game.
The Royals don’t have much outfield depth and can ill-afford to lose Ankiel, one of the splashy free-agent acquisitions, despite his recent 0-for-19 skid.
Kansas City has been the exact opposite of the Twins lately, losing the first two games in each of the last two series, only to come back and avoid a sweep by salvaging the third game. It will rely on Brian Bannister, who pitched well in his first two starts of the season – both against Detroit – before getting hit hard Monday at Toronto.
Bannister is due for a victory. He has lost six straight decisions dating to last season and hasn’t won since Aug. 2, 2009.