Brewers at Twins
The Minnesota Twins couldn't seem to do anything right when it mattered during their worst start in over 100 years, but manager Paul Molitor likes what he sees after his club notched a trio of comeback wins over the weekend. The Twins eye a fourth straight victory since beginning the season 0-9 on Monday, when they host the Milwaukee Brewers in the opener of a four-game, home-and-home interleague series.
Minnesota totaled 14 runs and was 5-for-66 with runners in scoring position during its season-opening nine-game slide - the franchise's first such skid since the 1904 Washington Senators opened 0-13-1 in its fourth year of existence. The Twins, who scored nine of their 14 runs during the series after the fifth inning, completed a sweep of the Los Angeles Angels with a 3-2, 12-inning victory on Sunday but lost the red-hot Trevor Plouffe to a right intercostal strain late in the game. "To endure that first stretch and respond this way is a good sign - 0-9 is a pretty big hole, so you don't want to get too giddy," Molitor told reporters. "But you'll take bunching some wins here in response to that 0-9." Milwaukee has dropped four of six to fall to 5-7, but it is 4-1 in games started by Jimmy Nelson and Chase Anderson - the latter of which will take the mound in the opener.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee), FSN North Plus (Minnesota)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers RH Chase Anderson (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Twins RH Phil Hughes (0-2, 4.38)
After two mostly mediocre seasons with Arizona, Anderson has been a pleasant surprise so far for Milwaukee, as he has yet to surrender an earned run through 11 innings. The Oklahoma alum was charged with three unearned runs on four hits and a pair of walks in a no-decision at St. Louis on Wednesday, which followed five scoreless frames versus Houston five days earlier. Anderson never has faced Minnesota but is 3-1 with a 2.68 ERA in seven career interleague starts.
Hughes recorded a quality start in each of his first two outings and has yet to issue a walk but hasn't received much help from his offense. The 29-year-old suffered his second loss in as many turns with Wednesday's 3-0 setback against the Chicago White Sox despite allowing three runs and striking out seven in 6 1/3 innings. Hughes will draw Milwaukee for the first time in his career, eyeing his seventh straight win in as many starts against a National League opponent.
WALK-OFFS
1. With his two singles Sunday, Minnesota 1B Joe Mauer tied Hall-of-Famer Harmon Killebrew for fifth place on the franchise list with 1,173 hits.
2. Milwaukee 2B Scooter Gennett has drawn a team-high nine walks in 47 plate appearances in 2016 after recording 12 in 391 plate appearances last season.
3. Plouffe has been listed as day-to-day, but the Twins plan on letting him rest for a few days before deciding whether or not he needs a stint on the disabled list.