Toronto @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 1, 2010 ) Toronto 6, Minnesota 3

With all the attention Jose Bautista has received this season, Toronto teammate Shawn Marcum has fallen under under the radar – though opposing hitters may disagree.

Marcum looks to end a strong season in style Saturday afternoon as he leads the Blue Jays into the resumption of their four-game series against the sliding Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Toronto has won five of seven meetings with the Twins this season, including the first two games of the season-ending showdown.

Toronto has garnered league-wide notice for its slugging prowess, and with good reason. The Jays have hit the fourth-most home runs in major-league history in 2010, led by Bautista's league-best 54 dingers.

Yet, the Jays' rotation played a major role in getting the team to its fourth winning season in five years – a major accomplishment considering many experts picked Toronto to finish near the bottom of the American League Standings. Marcum (13-8) has been the lynch pin of the starting staff, making an impressive return after missing the entire 2009 season after undergoing ligament replacement surgery.

The 28-year-old has posted a 3.63 ERA and has shown more elusiveness than in the past, recording 161 strikeouts over a career-high 188 1/3 innings. He established a new single-season career high in victories his last time out, earning win No. 13 with seven innings of four-hit ball in a 5-2 triumph over the Baltimore Orioles.

Marcum is 2-1 all-time against the Twins with a 3.46 ERA over 26 innings. He dominated Minnesota in their last meeting, limiting the Twins to a run on five hits over seven solid innings as the Jays cruised to an 11-2 win on May 18.

He'll hope to enjoy more of the offensive firepower Toronto has provided in the opening two games of the series. The Jays belted six home runs in Thursday's 13-2 curtain-raiser, and pounded out 13 more hits to cruise to a 6-3 victory a night later.

The team's recent pitching woes have Minnesota fans alarmed. The Twins have dropped seven of their last eight games, and have allowed an average of eight runs per game over that stretch – looking nothing like the team that cruised to the American League Central title.

They'll try to get things turned around behind Saturday starter Brian Duensing (10-3). The second-year left-hander is pegged to start Game 3 of the American League Divisional Series next week, but first he'll look to put his previous start behind him.

Duensing had a rare off-night six days ago, charged with five runs on seven hits over 6 2/3 frames on the way to a 5-1 loss in Detroit. The 27-year-old had won eight of his previous nine decisions prior to that game, and hadn't allowed more than four runs in any of them.

Duensing has a 4.26 career ERA in 6 1/3 innings against Toronto.