Twins at Royals
Minnesota's Joe Mauer is a bona fide thorn in the side of the Royals and he'll try to inflict more damage when the Twins visit Kansas City on Saturday for the middle contest of their three-game series. Mauer's tiebreaking two-run double in the eighth inning gave Minnesota a 6-4 victory on Friday, giving him a .318 average with 39 doubles and 114 RBIs in 194 games versus the Royals, who have lost eight in a row.
The Twins (11-11), who were 7-15 after 22 games last season, have won five straight against Kansas City - their longest winning streak versus the Royals since 2011. The red-hot Miguel Sano is 8-for-12 with two home runs and six RBIs in his last three games after belting a two-run shot and preceeding Mauer's hit with a two-run double of his own. Kansas City, which was swept in a three-game series by Minnesota to start the season and outscored 21-5 in the process, is last in the majors with 58 runs and also has the worst average with runners in scoring position at .159. The Twins' Phil Hughes is 3-0 with a 3.57 ERA in three road starts this season and opposes Jason Hammel, who still is looking for his first victory in a Royals uniform.
TV: 7:15 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), FSN Kansas City
PITCHING MATCHUP: Twins RH Phil Hughes (3-1, 4.71 ERA) vs. Royals RH Jason Hammel (0-2, 5.30)
Hughes allowed two runs and six hits in six innings of a 3-2 victory at Texas on Monday and also has defeated Detroit and the Chicago White Sox on the road this season. The 30-year-old Californian, who is 10-21 with a 5.53 ERA in 42 April starts, has recorded only 13 strikeouts in 21 innings this season. Hughes is 7-5 with a 4.91 ERA in 14 games (13 starts) versus Kansas City, including 4-3, 5.49 in seven turns at Kauffman Stadium.
Hammel yielded three runs, four hits and three walks in three innings of a 5-2 loss at Texas on Sunday after his only quality start of the season versus San Francisco on April 18, when he settled for a no-decision after permitting one run in six frames of a 2-1 loss. It is an uncharacteristically slow start for the 34-year-old South Carolina native, who is 21-12 with a 3.87 ERA in 48 April appearances (45 starts). Hammel is 2-1 with a 3.98 ERA in eight games (seven starts) versus Minnesota.
WALK-OFFS
1. Twins LF Eddie Rosario owns a 10-game hitting streak during which he is hitting .368 after going 2-for-4 with a run scored in the series opener.
2. Royals 1B Eric Hosmer is 5-for-12 in his last three games, raising his average to .224, and recorded his first RBI in 11 games on Friday.
3. Mauer ranks sixth all-time in batting average against the Royals (minimum 500 at-bats), trailing Rod Carew (.345), Ivan Rodriguez (.337), Wade Boggs (.332), Alex Rodriguez (.329) and Derek Jeter (.322).