Twins Vs. Mariners Final Score: Minnesota Flattened Again In 5-2 Loss

The Minnesota Twins continued their ice-cold tendencies at the plate in 2012, and fell to Seattle 5-2 on Sunday to drop the three-game series and move to a frustrating 7-20 on the year.

Minnesota starter Nick Blackburn was roughed up for three early runs, but settled down and managed to stay in the game through the sixth inning. Blackburn gave up seven hits and five earned, but did so on a day when his offense failed to produce anything tangible for him to work with.

Designated hitter Ryan Doumit provided the lone bright spots of the day for the Twins with a pair of solo home runs in the eighth and ninth innings to erase the shutout. Doumit, who finished 3-for-3 in the game, recorded more than half of the Twins' five hits on his own, a scenario that offers yet another reminder of how far this Minnesota team has fallen.

Next up for the Twins is an unfortunate date with Jered Weaver and the Los Angeles Angels on Monday. Weaver, who no-hit the Twins on May 2nd, will face a comparably-weak lineup when he toes the rubber to open the three-game series.

For more on the Twins, head over to Twinkie Town. For more on the Mariners, check out Lookout Landing. And for more MLB news and analysis, be sure to visit Baseball Nation.

Twins Vs. Mariners Score Update: Seattle Jumps Out To 4-0 Lead After Two Innings

Looking to avoid falling to a woeful 7-20 on the season, the Minnesota Twins are in quite a bit of early trouble in Sunday's series finale with the Mariners, and trail 4-0 after just two innings.

Twins starter Nick Blackburn turned in a miserable first inning, and was knocked around for three runs on three hits after throwing just 13 of his 27 pitches for strikes. Unfortunately for Minnesota, his second inning provided more of the same, as left fielder Mike Carp collected his first home run of the season to make the game 4-0 before Blackburn could even record an out. Entering the day, the winless Blackburn had given up 27 hits and 15 earned runs in 20.1 innings pitched.

A two-run double from Seattle clean-up hitter Jesus Montero opened the scoring in the first, and red-hot third baseman Kyle Seager wasted little time knocking his teammate home to give the Mariners a quick 3-0 advantage. Carp's solo shot extended the lead to four runs, a deficit that appears insurmountable for a Minnesota offense that remains baffled at the plate.

For more on the Twins, head over to Twinkie Town. For more on the Mariners, check out Lookout Landing. And for more MLB news and expert analysis, be sure to visit Baseball Nation.

Ron Gardenhire: Twins Prospect Brian Dozier To Start At Shortstop On Monday

With his team currently ice cold from the plate and largely unable to handle good-to-great big league pitching, Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire offered a bit of hope by announcing that recent call-up Brian Dozier will be the team's starting shortstop on Monday when they return home to Minnesota.

Dozier is widely viewed as the best middle infield prospect in the Twins' farm system, and was called up, in addition to left-handed pitcher Scott Diamond, on Saturday as frustrations mounted about the team's inability to produce anything viable offensively. A frustrated Gardenhire was blunt about his intentions on his weekly radio show. "We need some offense. We need some life," Gardenhire said.

Utility infielder Jamey Carroll has been forced to play in every single game this season for the Twins due to a severe lack of depth at the middle infield positions, an issue that should be alleviated with Dozier in the mix. A .277 hitter this season at Triple-A Rochester, Minnesota has no choice but to be patient with their young prospect as he acclimates himself to the highest level of pro baseball.

For more on the Twins, head over to Twinkie Town. For more MLB news and expert analysis, be sure to check out Baseball Nation.

Twins Vs. Mariners Starting Lineups: Rookie Erik Komatsu To Start In Right Field And Bat Eighth

The Minnesota Twins are desperately hoping to stop the bleeding on Sunday afternoon at Safeco Field, with a chance to win the three-game set over Seattle still on the table. The Twins will send starter Nick Blackburn to the mound to face off against Seattle's relative-unknown Hector Noesi, in a game where both teams could certainly use a strong day offensively.

Fresh off being claimed from waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals, 24-year-old rookie Erik Komatsu will once again get the start in right field for the Twins. Komatsu went 0-for-3 in his Minnesota debut on Saturday, after hitting .211 over 15 games in the National League. With limited chances to show his stuff, the youngster will hope to get things going quickly in order to stick around in the big leagues.

Here are the full lineups for Sunday's finale:

Twins
1. Denard Span - CF
2. Jamey Carroll - SS
3. Joe Mauer - C
4. Josh Willingham - LF
5. Ryan Doumit - DH
6. Chris Parmelee - 1B
7. Danny Valencia - 3B
8. Erik Komatsu - RF
9. Alexi Casilla - 2B
Nick Blackburn - SP

Mariners
1. Dustin Ackley - 2B
2. Brendan Ryan - SS
3. Ichiro Suzuki - RF
4. Jesus Montero - DH
5. Kyle Seager - 3B
6. John Jaso - C
7. Justin Smoak - 1B
8. Mike Carp - LF
9. Michael Saunders - CF
Hector Noesi - SP

For more on the Twins, head over to Twinkie Town. For more on the Mariners, check out Lookout Landing. And for more MLB news and expert analysis, be sure to visit Baseball Nation.

Twins Vs. Mariners: Minnesota Looks To Finish Strong In Seattle

The Minnesota Twins wrap up their weekend series against the Seattle Mariners on Sunday afternoon, looking to put some runs on the board and win after suffering their third shutout in four games against the Mariners on Sunday.

Seattle pitcher Felix Hernandez was simply too tough for the Twins on Saturday, allowing just one hit in eight innings. The Twins were already struggling to produce on offense, so running into the Hernandez buzzsaw didn't help. On Sunday, the Twins won't have any excuses at the plate as they'll face right-hander Hector Noesi. Seattle's Noesi is 1-3 on the season with a 7.83 ERA after struggling in his last three starts.

The Twins turn to Nick Blackburn to slow down the Mariners. The right-hander is 0-3 with a 6.64 ERA, so Blackburn will need all of the run support Joe Mauer and company can provide.

The game is scheduled to start at 3:10 p.m. CDT and will be televised on Fox Sports North.

For more on the Minnesota Twins and Seattle Mariners, check out their respective SB Nation blogs at Twinkie Town and Lookout Landing. More news and info on Major League Baseball can be found at Baseball Nation.

Twins Vs. Mariners Final Score: Minnesota Stifled By Seattle Ace Felix Hernandez In 7-0 Defeat

So apparently it's going to be one of those seasons. Days after being no-hit by the Angels' Jered Weaver, the Minnesota Twins once again allowed an elite pitcher to pad his resume in yet another abysmal loss. This time, however, it was Seattle All-Star Felix Hernandez, a man widely regarded as one of the best pure pitchers in baseball, who made the Minnesota lineup look like a bunch of little leaguers.

Right away it was almost as if Hernandez picked up right where Weaver left off, as the crafty righthander struck out nine, walked just two, and yielded exactly one hit to cruise through eight full innings. The win moved Hernandez to 3-1 on the year and lowered his season ERA to a sparkling 1.89, but raised serious questions about Minnesota's light-hitting lineup going forward.

For the Twins, this is yet another bitter pill to swallow. Being no-hit by one of the sport's best pitchers on any given day could be chalked up to circumstance, but a near repeat performance less than a week later is a clear-cut sign of a problem. Now in a massive hole at 7-19 on the year, the Twins find themselves stuck in a precarious position in just the second month of the season, which is never a good sign.

Minnesota hitters will hope to wake up from the plate in Sunday's series finale, as the Twins will send an 0-3 Nick Blackburn to the hill for a chance to steal the three-game set.

For more on the Twins, head over to Twinkie Town. For more on the Mariners, check out Lookout Landing. And for more MLB news and analysis, be sure to visit Baseball Nation.

Twins Vs. Mariners Score Update: Minnesota, Seattle Scoreless After 5 Innings In Pitcher's Duel

Locked in a pitcher's duel through five innings on Saturday night at Safeco Field, the Minnesota Twins and Seattle Mariners are both scoreless and have combined for exactly three total hits.

Seattle starter Felix Hernandez, as expected, has stolen the show with just one hit yielded through five frames. Hernandez has thrown 67 pitches, 42 for strikes, and owns four strikeouts. Opposing Hernandez, Minnesota starter Jason Marquis has hardly been a slouch himself with two hits allowed and one strikeout after five.

Neither pitcher has allowed a run thus far, although the Twins were able to sacrifice Denard Span over to third base in the third inning despite not being able to take advantage. Despite his impressive line overall, Marquis has also walked four Seattle batters despite a commendable pitch count of 71, and will need to shore up his command to keep up with the usually-sharp Hernandez.

The lone hit of the afternoon for the Twins was picked up by the aforementioned Span, moving his season average to .314. With both pitchers primed to pitch deep into the late innings, the outcome of this game could theoretically come down to a single hit. Stay with SB Nation Minnesota for more updates as the Twins look for win No. 8 on the season.

For more on the Twins, head over to Twinkie Town. For more on the Mariners, check out Lookout Landing. And for more MLB news and analysis, be sure to visit Baseball Nation.

Twins Vs. Mariners: Minnesota Looks For Consecutive Wins Against Seattle

The Minnesota Twins resume their weekend series against the Seattle Mariners on Saturday night when the two teams meet again at Safeco Field.

The Twins look to begin a rare winning streak after rallying to win the first game of the series on Friday night. It won't be easy for Minnesota though as they'll face a motivated Mariners team having their own problems in the midst of a seven-game losing streak. Seattle will also have their ace on the hill as nasty right-hander Felix Hernandez will try to stop the losing for the M's. Hernandez is 2-1 with a 2.23 ERA in his five starts, often left begging for run support.

Minnesota will counter with right-hander Jason Marquis on the mount. Marquis has taken advantage of solid runs support in his three starts so far this season, taking the hill on Saturday with a 2-0 record and 6.23 ERA.

The game is scheduled to start at 8:10 p.m. CT and will be televised on Fox Sports North

For more on the Minnesota Twins and Seattle Mariners, check out their respective SB Nation blogs at Twinkie Town and Lookout Landing. More news and info on Major League Baseball can be found at Baseball Nation.

Twins Vs. Mariners: Minnesota Rally To Beat Seattle, 3-2

Something had to give when the Minnesota Twins faced the Seattle Mariners on Friday night with both teams streaking the wrong way.

In the end, Minnesota snapped a three-game losing streak by rallying for three runs in the seventh inning to hand Seattle their seventh consecutive loss, 3-2. The Twins seventh inning rally also broke the team's 25-inning scoreless streak which included being no-hit by Jared Weaver on Wednesday.

Joe Mauer knocked in the winning run, scoring Trevor Plouffe with a single to close out the scoring in the seventh. The Twins scored earlier in the inning on an error and fielder's choice. The Mariners scored twice in the fifth inning thanks to a pair of doubles by Kyle Seager and Mike Carp.

Carl Pavano earned the win for the Twins to even his record at 2-2, pitching six innings and striking out two batters with no walks. Matt Capps earned his fifth save of the season as the bullpen held the Mariners in check in relief of Pavano.

The two teams will resume their weekend series on Saturday night .

For more on the Minnesota Twins and Seattle Mariners, check out their respective SB Nation blogs at Twinkie Town and Lookout Landing. More news and info on Major League Baseball can be found at Baseball Nation.

Twins Roster Moves: Erik Komatsu Claimed Off Waivers, Designate Clete Thomas For Assignment

On Friday, the Minnesota Twins claimed Erik Komatsu off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals and designated Clete Thomas for assignment.

Twins Vs. Mariners: Minnesota Heads To Seattle After Forgettable LA Series

The Minnesota Twins will face the Seattle Mariners on Friday in the first of a three game set in Seattle.