Minnesota @ Los Angeles preview
Angel Stadium of Anaheim
Last Meeting ( Apr 17, 2013 ) LA Angels 0, Minnesota 0
The Minnesota Twins attempt to begin another winning streak Monday when they kick off a seven-game road trip with the opener of a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels. Minnesota won four straight before suffering a 7-1 loss to the Cleveland Indians on Sunday. Brian Dozier recorded both hits in the game by the Twins, who are tied with the Chicago White Sox for the second-fewest road wins in the American League.
Los Angeles hopes to rebound from a 6-0 home loss to the AL West-leading Oakland Athletics on Sunday. The Angels registered only four hits against Bartolo Colon, two of which they recorded in the ninth inning - including a single by Mike Trout that extended his hitting streak to a career-high 13 games. The defeat ended Los Angeles' four-game home winning streak and dropped it 10 games behind Oakland in the division.
TV: 10:05 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), FSN West (Los Angeles)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Twins RH Samuel Deduno (5-4, 3.61 ERA) vs. Angels RH Joe Blanton (2-12, 5.53)
Deduno picked up his second win in six road starts this season on July 13, allowing one run and six hits against the New York Yankees. The 30-year-old Dominican has yielded fewer than three earned runs in six of his last nine outings, going 5-0 in those contests. Deduno, who never has faced the Angels, needs one victory to match his career high set last season.
Blanton is coming off his shortest outing of the year, a four-inning stint in which he surrendered four runs on five hits and four walks en route to his major league-high 12th loss. The 32-year-old also leads the AL in hits allowed (148), is tied for first in homers (23) and ranks second in earned runs (69) while owning the second-highest ERA. Blanton had his career record against the Twins evened at 5-5 after yielding four runs in 4 2/3 frames at Minnesota on April 15.
WALK-OFFS
1. Twins 3B Trevor Plouffe has struck out in each of his last six at-bats.
2. INF Doug Bernier made his Twins debut Sunday, entering as a defensive replacement and drawing a walk in his only plate appearance. The 33-year-old had not played in the majors since 2008, when he went 0-for-4 in two games with Colorado.
3. Minnesota swept an abbreviated two-game home series against the Angels but has lost five straight contests in Los Angeles.
PREDICTION: Twins 5, Angels 3