Twins close out homestand with Royals

Baseball Betting Lines

09/08/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins will close out another successful home stand this evening, when the American League Central leaders take aim at a series sweep of the Kansas City Royals at Target Field.

The Twins have gone 7-1 thus far on this nine-game residency and delivered their fifth consecutive win with last night's 10-3 triumph over the non- contending Royals. With second-place Chicago losing at Detroit on Tuesday, Minnesota now owns a 4 1/2-game advantage on the White Sox for the Central's top spot.

The victory was also the 18th in the Twins' last 21 contests at first-year Target Field, where the reigning division champions are an AL-best 47-23 over the course of this season.

"They are a good team -- they're not leading this division for nothing," Royals manager Ned Yost said of the Twins after last night's game. "They swing the bat, they catch the ball and they throw strikes."

Minnesota did indeed swing the bats on Tuesday, pounding out 13 hits and knocking out Kansas City starter Brian Bannister in the third inning. Delmon Young led the ouburst with a 3-for-4, four-RBI performance at the plate, while J.J. Hardy drove in three runs in the rout.

Jim Thome added a solo home run for the Twins, the 586th of the veteran slugger's career. He is now tied with Hall of Famer Frank Robinson for eighth place on baseball's all-time list in that category.

Francisco Liriano (14-7) did his part as well for Minnesota, with the standout pitcher holding the Royals to two runs over the first seven innings to remain unbeaten over the second half of this season. The left-hander is now 7-0 in 10 starts since the All-Star break.

Bannister (7-12) wasn't nearly as effective as his counterpart, surrendering seven runs and eight hits before being removed after only 2 2/3 innings.

Josh Fields went 2-for-4 with a solo homer for Kansas City, losers of five of its last six games.

The Royals will send out their top pitcher in hopes of averting a sweep of this three-game set, although Zack Greinke hasn't fared well at all in previous matchups with Minnesota this season. The 2009 AL Cy Young Award recipient is 0-3 with a bloated 10.29 earned run average in three starts against tonight's opponent so far in 2010, with the Twins batting a robust .365 off of him.

In Greinke's most recent encounter with the Twins, he was battered for eight runs and eight hits in four innings of a 19-1 loss in Kansas City on July 26.

The right-hander has pitched better as of late, having compiled a 1-0 record with a 2.72 ERA over his last five starts. He was reached for four runs in 6 1/3 innings against Detroit this past Friday, however, registering a no- decision in an eventual 9-5 Royals' setback.

Greinke, who's lost in each of two prior visits to Target Field this season, is just 3-7 with a 4.94 ERA over 18 career appearances (14 starts) against Minnesota.

The Royals also haven't had much success in this season series as a team. Minnesota has prevailed in the last six meetings between the divisional foes and is 11-3 against Kansas City this season, while taking six of eight bouts held in Minneapolis.

Kansas City figures to face another tough test tonight, considering how well Brian Duensing has pitched for the Twins this season. The versatile left- hander sports a 7-2 record with an excellent 2.09 ERA in 48 games and is 4-1 with a 2.33 ERA in eight starts since being inserted into the rotation in late July.

Duensing hasn't started since allowing three unearned runs in a 6 2/3-inning no-decision against Detroit on August 31, but was forced into an emergency relief role in a home clash with the Tigers on Thursday. In a game that lasted 13 innings, the former University of Nebraska star gave up a run on four hits over a pair of frames.

The 27-year-old owns a sensational 1.30 ERA in 25 Target Field appearances (three starts) and is 3-0 with a 4.26 ERA through nine career games (two starts) against Kansas City. Duensing defeated the Royals in a July 28 start at Kauffman Stadium by tossing six innings of two-run ball.

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