Twins Vs. Blue Jays Final Score: Minnesota Splits Four-Game Series With 4-3 Win

With his second consecutive quality start in Sunday's 4-3 win over Toronto, Minnesota Twins pitcher Scott Diamond has now tossed 14 straight scoreless innings to kick off his 2012 campaign.

The 6-foot-3 lefthander went seven strong innings without issuing a single walk, scattering five hits and striking out four against a potent Toronto lineup. The 25-year-old Diamond now owns a sparkling 10-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio on the year, and appears to have solidified his role in the rotation for the foreseeable future with this latest start.

Rookie shortstop Brian Dozier broke the scoreless tie with a solo home run in the third inning, the first of his career. The Twins then proceeded to load the bases against Toronto starter Ricky Romero in the fifth, and plated three more runs on a walk and two-run single by Ryan Doumit.

To keep things interesting, the Blue Jays tallied their only three runs of the afternoon in a wild eighth inning, as Twins reliever Jared Burton did everything in his power to throw Diamond's stellar outing away. Closer Matt Capps, though, came in to lock the door in the ninth, and needed just 14 pitches to record his seventh save of the season.

Next up for the 10-24 Twins is a brief two-game homestand starting Monday against Cleveland.

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Twins Vs. Blue Jays Score Update: Minnesota Ahead 1-0 After Brian Dozier's 1st Career HR

The Minnesota Twins grabbed an early 1-0 advantage over Toronto in the third inning on Sunday, as 24-year-old rookie infielder Brian Dozier recorded his very first career home run in the big leagues.

Dozier's blast, which came off Toronto lefty starter Ricky Romero with two outs in the third, represented his seventh hit in as many games with the Twins since being called up. Widely considered Minnesota's best middle infield prospect well before he was snatched from Triple-A, Dozier has often been considered a defensive specialist with a decent amount of pop in his bat.

His memorable moment today will hopefully be a sign of things to come for the young infielder, as Ron Gardenhire continues to infuse youth and raw talent into his skidding ball club in hopes of striking gold. Dozier is still only hitting .259 for the season, but looks to have solidified his place in the lineup for the short-term at least with today's performance.

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Twins Vs. Blue Jays Starting Lineups: Minnesota Aims For Mother's Day Victory

Looking for some much-needed momentum, the Minnesota Twins will send lefthander Scott Diamond to the hill on Mother's Day in search of a series victory over Toronto.

Despite a 2-1 loss on Saturday in a game where his team managed just five hits, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire will send out a near-identical lineup for Sunday's finale against Toronto starter Ricky Romero. Still one win away from double-digit victories for the year, sluggers Joe Mauer and Josh Willingham will be integral against a dangerous changeup pitcher like Romero.

The Twins are hoping that the 25-year-old Diamond, who pitched seven strong innings with six strikeouts to pick up his first victory of 2012 against the Angels on May 8, will be a player that the organization can begin to build a rotation around. Diamond will face a nine-man Toronto order that features elite home run power from top-to-bottom, so he will need to be judicial with his command.

Here are the full lineups for both teams:

Twins
1. Denard Span - CF
2. Brian Dozier - SS
3. Joe Mauer - 1B
4. Josh Willingham - LF
5. Ryan Doumit - DH
6. Trevor Plouffe - 3B
7. Erik Komatsu - RF
8. Drew Butera - C
9. Jamey Carroll - 2B
Scott Diamond - SP

Blue Jays
1. Kelly Johnson - 2B
2. Yunel Escobar - SS
3. Jose Bautista - RF
4. Edwin Encarnacion - 1B
5. Ben Francisco - DH
6. Brett Lawrie - 3B
7. Colby Rasmus - CF
8. J.P. Arencibia - C
9. Rajai Davis - LF
Ricky Romero - SP

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Twins Vs. Blue Jays: Recent Call-Up Scott Diamond Goes For Second Win

The Minnesota Twins will send Scott Diamond to the hill in Sunday's series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Diamond got blasted in seven starts last season (he was 1-5 with a 5.08 ERA), but was solid in his lone start since being called up last week. He pitched seven shutout innings with six strikeouts in Minnesota's lone win in a three-game series versus the Los Angeles Angels.

Diamond will be going up against Ricky Romero. Romero, who had a 2.92 ERA last season, is 4-0 thus far in 2012 -- part of the reason the Jays are a solid 19-15.

The Twins are 9-24 and three games back on the Kansas City in the quest to stay out of last place in the division.

After the Jays, Minnesota will host the AL Central-leading Cleveland Indians.

First pitch Sunday will be at 1:10 Central.

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Minnesota Twins Roster Moves: Matt Maloney Joins Triple-A Rochester After Clearing Waivers

The struggles of Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Matt Maloney has been well documented this season, and the lefty will get his chance to sort out his issues with the Rochester Red Wings, the Twins Triple-A affiliate. A few days after being designated for assignment, Maloney cleared waivers Saturday and will now join the International League member.

In nine appearances with the Twins this season, Maloney compiled an ERA of 8.18 -- making it not a huge surprise not one of the other 29 MLB teams claimed him.

Maloney, who allowed 10 earned runs in just 11 innings of work, was replaced on the roster by former Red Winger P.J. Walters, who is set to make his first start in the big leagues since 2010 on Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays (6:10 p.m. CT).

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Blue Jays Vs. Twins Preview: With Series Tied 1-1 Twins Look For Rare Back-To-Back Wins

The Minnesota Twins host the Toronto Blue Jays for Game 3 of a four-game series Saturday night, and if they can follow Friday's victory with another win they'll have matched their longest win streak of the season. After going 1-5 in the six games prior to Friday's effort, Darin Mastroianni helped turn things around for the Twins, picking up three RBI on a pair of singles. He had a two-run single capping the Twins' four-run fifth, and he added another in the seventh to give the Twins an insurance run that turned out to be essential.

P.J. Walters will be on the hill for Minnesota, having been called up from the minors after Francisco Liriano was moved from the rotation to the bullpen. The right-handed pitcher posted a 3-1 record in Triple-A Rochester, with a 2.70 ERA in six starts. This is Walters' first start since 2010, and he will face Toronto rookie Drew Hutchinson (1-1, 6.65 ERA).

First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. EST, with the weather looking party cloudy and cool.

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Twins Vs. Blue Jays: Start Of Second Game Could Be Delayed Because Of Rain

The Minnesota Twins are scheduled to begin game two of their weekend series against the Toronto Blue Jays at 7:10 CDT at Target Field, so in about 10 minutes. The starting time, however, might be delayed because of rain.

Currently, it is 61 degrees with light rain, as well as wind up to 17 miles per hour at the ballpark.

Though there has been no official announcement regarding the start time, the tarp is currently on the field and a delay of some kind appears likely, according to MLB.com Twins beat reporter Rhett Bollinger.

Tarp is on the field. There hasn't been an announcement yet but it looks like game will be delayed.

Thunderstorms had been forecast earlier for Friday during the day for downtown Minneapolis with a high of 75 degrees.

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Twins Vs. Blue Jays: Starting Lineups For Friday Night

The Minnesota Twins' four-game weekend set against the Toronto Blue Jays (18-14) didn't exactly get off to the best start on Thursday night, as they stumbled, 6-2 at Target Field. The Twins (8-23), who have dropped 14 of their last 17 games, are hoping to put an end to their current two-game slide, while Toronto looks to grab its third consecutive victory.

Here are the projected starting lineups for Friday night.

Toronto

1. Kelly Johnson, Second Base

2. Yunel Escobar, Short stop

3. Jose Bautista, Right Field

4. Edwin Encarnacion, Designated Hitter

5. Eric Thames, Left Field

6. Brett Lawrie, Third Base

7. Colby Rasmus, Center Field

8. Adam Lind, First Base

9. J.P. Arencibia, Catcher

Minnesota

1. Denard Span, Center Field

2. Brian Dozier, Short stop

3. Joe Mauer, Catcher

4.Josh Willingham, Left Field

5. Ryan Doumit, Designated Hitter

6. Trevor Plouffe, Third Base

7. Chris Parmelee, First Base

8. Darin Mastroianni, Right Field

9. Jamey Carroll, Second Base

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Twins Vs. Blue Jays: Minnesota To Host Second Game Of Four-Game Set

The opening to the 2012 season has gone poorly for the Minnesota Twins. Currently sitting in the cellar of the American League's Central Division, the Twins (8-23) have continued to struggle since the start of May only winning two of their nine games in the second month of the year. On Friday night, the team will look to add to their unfortunately low win total when they host the Toronto Blue Jays (18-14) at Target Field in the second game of a four-game set.

The Blue Jays won the first game on Thursday night when they defeated the Twins 6-2, lowering the team's home record to 4-11 on the season. Minnesota has now lost two-in-a-row and will hope to avoid extending the streak to three (they have currently registered five separate losing streaks of three games or more this season).

Nick Blackburn is the probable starter for the Twins and will look to register his first win of the season. He is currently 0-4 in five starts this season with a 6.84 ERA in 26.1 innings pitched and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 14-8.

Toronto's probable starter is Kyle Drabek who is 2-3 in six starts this season. He has a 3.34 ERA in 35 innings pitched this season and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 28-20.

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Twins Vs. Blue Jays Final Score: Minnesota Beaten At Home By Toronto, 6-2

The Minnesota Twins once again opened up a fresh series with a loss on Thursday night, falling to Toronto 6-2 in the first of a four-game set. Despite racking up seven hits and three walks, Ron Gardenhire's team could not consistently generate scoring opportunities for yet another 9-inning contest.

The Twins' sole extra-base hit on the evening came from the bat of surging outfielder Josh Willingham, who belted his seventh homer of the year off Toronto starter Henderson Alvarez in the sixth inning. Along with Willingham's blast, rookie outfielder Erik Komatsu finished 2-for-3 despite a largely invisible night from his teammates.

Picking up the loss for the Twins was veteran righty Jason Marquis, who pitched just 4.0 innings for his shortest outing of the season. Marquis walked three and struck out two more, but gave up six runs (five earned) on seven hits before being pulled at the 86-pitch mark.

Stuck in a massive hole at 8-23 on the year, the Twins will send a winless Nick Blackburn to the hill to face Toronto's Kyle Drabek in game two on Friday.

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Twins Vs. Blue Jays: First Look At Roster Changes For Reeling Twins

The Twins take a shuffled roster into Thursday game with the Blue Jays.