Minnesota @ New York preview
Citi Field
Last Meeting ( Mar 19, 2010 ) Minnesota 7, NY Mets 3
By taking two of three from the Detroit Tigers this week, the New York Mets helped the slumping Minnesota Twins hold on to their spot atop the American League Central standings.
Now they'll try to do their part to knock the Twins off the perch.
Minnesota heads to Citi Field for a three-game series with the surging Mets starting tonight, when right-handers Kevin Slowey and Mike Pelfrey square off in a matchup of teams trying to gain traction in tight division races.
The Twins have occupied first place in the AL Central since April 12 - and for all but three days this season - but they're in danger of losing their first-place status.
Minnesota has lost five of seven, allowing Detroit to pull within a half-game, and the Twins were uncharacteristically bad while being swept in a three-game series at Milwaukee this week. They scored only eight runs in the series and committed four errors.
They'll need to turn those trends around against the Mets, who have won 12 of 14 at home and 14 of 18 overall, even after Thursday's 6-5 loss to the Tigers.
The Mets had briefly pulled even with Atlanta atop the National League East before losing Thursday and they're eager to get back in first place for the first time since May 1.
In hopes of doing so, they turn to Pelfrey, who has been their most consistent starter but is looking to rebound from a rare rough outing.
Pelfrey (9-2, 2.69 ERA) allowed more than three runs for just the third time in 14 starts and snapped his streak of winning five consecutive decisions his last time out. He gave up five runs on seven hits in seven innings and took the loss in a 5-3 loss to the New York Yankees.
Now he's back home at Citi Field, where he is 5-0 with a 1.87 ERA in eight starts this year. In his last three home starts, Pelfrey has allowed a total of two runs and 14 hits over 22 innings.
The Twins send out Slowey (7-4, 4.58 ERA), who looks to bounce back from two consecutive bad outings. Over his past two starts, Slowey has allowed 13 runs - 12 earned - on 16 hits in 6 1/3 innings.
He didn't get out of the second inning Saturday at Philadelphia, giving up seven runs on seven hits, though the Twins rallied to win 13-10 in 11 innings.
The Mets might not be the best team to get well against. They're hitting .311 as a team over their last 10 games and have averaged 6.3 runs per game in that span.
Shortstop Jose Reyes and David Wright have led the way. Reyes is 28-for-65 (.431) with five homers, nine RBIs and 19 runs scored in his last 15 games. Wright is 34-for-86 (.395) with four homers and 24 RBIs in 22 games since May 30.
The Mets might be without another of their hot hitters, though, as center fielder Angel Pagan sat out Thursday. Pagan had his 10-game hitting streak snapped when he had to leave Wednesday's game early because of back spasms, and he is considered day-to-day.
Despite their recent struggles, the Twins still are getting good production from their big hitters. First baseman Justin Morneau is 11-for-23 with two homers and six RBIs in last his five games and ranks second in the American League with a .349 average.
Outfielder Delmon Young has raised his average 40 points since June 4, going 26-for-62 (.419) with three homers and 20 RBIs in 18 games during that span.
Designated hitter Jason Kubel has been nearly as hot, going 19-for-52 (.365) with three homers and eight RBIs in his last 15 games. Kubel has hit safely in 14 of those 15 games, with the only exception being Tuesday's 7-5 loss to Milwaukee in which he didn't start but came off the bench for two hitless at-bats.
Third baseman Nick Punto also has been hot, going 11-for-27 in his last nine games. As a result, Minnesota sent infielder Brendan Harris to Triple-A Rochester after Thursday's game and called up outfielder Jason Repko. Harris was hitting .157 with one home run and four RBIs in 108 at-bats.