Minnesota @ Kansas City preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 27, 2010 ) Minnesota 11, Kansas City 2

No one would blame the Kansas City Royals for choosing to stay home Wednesday, considering what has happened at Kauffman Stadium the last two games.

The first two games of the series against Minnesota have been the low point of Kansas City's season. The Royals have been outscored 30-3 and their pitching staff has been battered for 39 hits. The Twins have had two six-run innings, a four-run inning, a three-run inning and five two-run innings.

The Twins' production has come from everywhere.

Joe Mauer is 7-for-9 with nine RBIs in the series. The defending American League Most Valuable Player was 5-for-5 with seven RBIs in a 19-1 win Monday night.

It's no surprise when Mauer has a couple of big nights, even though his numbers are down a bit this season, at least by his standards. It's an entirely different situation when Denny Valencia knocks the ball all over the park.

The rookie infielder was 4-for-4 with a grand slam Monday for his first major-league home run. Valencia was also a big factor in Tuesday's 11-2 win by going 4-for-5 with three RBIs – impressive for a player who spent most of the season in the minors.

Brian Bannister gets the start for the Royals, hoping to end his team's recent futility while snapping out of a personal monthlong funk.

Bannister hasn't won since June 23 when he defeated Washington. He's 0-4 in five starts since then, allowing 22 earned runs and 31 hits in 28 innings. The one positive is that Bannister beat the Twins in his only start against them this season on April 25, allowing two runs and nine hits in 6 1/3 innings.

Brian Duensing, who joined the rotation when Nick Blackburn was moved to the bullpen, makes his second start of the season. He allowed one run and four hits in five innings against Baltimore on Friday. The left-hander made 39 relief appearances before being put into the rotation.

The Twins will need to build up Duensing's pitch count so he can work deeper into games. He threw 66 pitches against the Orioles and will need to eventually approach the 80 to 90 mark to be an effective starter.

Duensing's overall numbers have been solid. He has allowed 37 hits in 48 innings and has held batters to a .214 average.