Mariners Vs. Twins Final Score: Minnesota Falls To Seattle In Series Finale, 5-4

Unable to build on their impressive 10-0 victory on Wednesday, the Minnesota Twins fell to the Mariners on Thursday afternoon in the fourth and final game of their series, 5-4.

Twins hitters knocked Seattle starter Blake Beavan around for a pair of runs in the opening frame, but could not muster another score against the talented right-hander over the next six innings. Minnesota outfielder Josh Willingham finally stepped to the plate and belted his 33rd home run of the season in the eighth inning to pull the game within a mere run, but Ron Gardenhire's lineup ultimately could not break through against Seattle closer Tom Wilhelmsen in the end.

The 33-year-old Willingham, who now has 96 runs batted in this year, has already smacked 14 bombs since the All-Star break, despite seeing his average dip slightly in the month of August. Aside from Willingham's inspired play however, the Twins just don't seem to be getting consistent production from some of the other big bats in their lineup, and it's starting to become evident in their second-half record.

Next up for Gardenhire's gang is a three-game series with a confident Kansas City squad at Kauffman Stadium on Friday. Cole De Vries will get the ball in the first game of the set in search of his fourth victory of 2012.

Be sure to visit Twinkie Town for more Twins coverage, and head over to Lookout Landing for Mariners news. Also check out Baseball Nation for even more coverage from around the league.

Twins Vs. Mariners: Minnesota Aims For Series Split In Finale On Thursday Afternoon

The Minnesota Twins broke through for a 10-0 win on Wednesday night to salvage at least one game in their four-pack against the Seattle Mariners, and on Thursday afternoon they get a chance to come away with a series split. Samuel Deduno looked excellent on the mound during his performance on Wednesday -- he tossed 7.0 innings of shutout ball, including nine strikeouts and zero walks -- so now Minnesota will try to build on that postitive momentum. Brian Duensing (3-9, 5.28 ERA) will get the call for the Twins, while the Mariners will counter with starting pitcher Blake Beavan (8-8, 5.10 ERA).

Game Date & Time: 12:10 p.m. CT Thursday

TV: FOX Sports North

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Minnesota. For more in-depth coverage of this series, check out Twins blog Twinkie Town and Mariners blog Lookout Landing. For more news, notes and analysis from around baseball, visit Baseball Nation.

Mariners Vs. Twins Final Score: Samuel Deduno Throws 7 Scoreless Innings In 10-0 Win

Minnesota Twins pitcher Samuel Deduno entered Wednesday night's game against the Seattle Mariners coming off his worst start of the season, but he turned things around and threw a gem in Minnesota's 10-0 victory.

In seven innings, Deduno didn't allow a single run, giving up only two hits and striking out nine batters. He also didn't walk a single batter, which is notable considering he came into the game having walked more batters on the season than he had struck out.

That pitching performance was more than enough for Minnesota's hitters, who knocked around Seattle starter Jason Vargas and reliever Carter Capps. Both Trevor Plouffe and Josh Willingham went deep for the Twins, and Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer each picked up two RBIs.

Head over to Twinkie Town for more Twins news, and make sure to visit Lookout Landing for more Mariners coverage. Also check out Baseball Nation for even more analysis from around the league.

Twins Vs. Mariners: Starting Lineups For Game Three

The Minnesota Twins can't seem to string together quality wins. They have been losers in 16 of their last 19 games, and are riding a two-game losing streak, which includes a 1-0 shutout and a 5-2 loss at the hands of the Seattle Mariners. They're currently in the middle of a four-game set and have to right the ship immediately to get away with a split against them, and to avoid a sweep for the second time by Seattle in less-than 20 days.

Minnesota will send Samuel Deduno to the mound, sporting a 4-2 record. He'll be up against Jason Vargas for Seattle. They're both coming off losses, but Deduno gave up seven runs in his most recent outing and is much more of a "needs to bounce back" candidate.

As far as lineups go, Minnesota is generally sticking to what they've been putting out there, with Chris Parmelee being the only addition, replacing Darin Mastroianni. Below, we've got the full lineups for both teams.

Twins Lineups

1. Ben Revere CF
2. Jamey Carroll 2B
3. Joe Mauer DH
4. Josh Willingham LF
5. Justin Morneau 1B
6. Ryan Doumit C
7. Chris Parmelee RF
8. Trevor Plouffe 3B
9. Pedro Florimon SS

Mariners Lineups

1. Dustin Ackley 2B
2. Trayvon Robinson LF
3. Kyle Seager 3B
4. John Jaso DH
5. Justin Smoak 1B
6. Eric Thames RF
7. Miguel Olivo C
8. Chone Figgins CF
9. Munenori Kawasaki SS

Head over to Twinkie Town for more Twins news, and make sure to visit Lookout Landing for more Mariners coverage. Also check out Baseball Nation for even more analysis from around the league.

Minnesota Twins Promote Chris Parmelee, Outright Jeff Gray To Triple-A

The Minnesota Twins have promoted first baseman Chris Parmelee from Triple-A Rochester, according to Dustin Morse of the Twins' communications department. The former first round pick will be in uniform on Wednesday night when the team takes on the Seattle Mariners.

In order to free up space on the 25-man roster for Parmelee, the team has outrighted relief pitcher Jeff Gray to Triple-A after a mediocre performance in Minnesota this season. Over 52 innings with the Twins this season, Gray has a 5.71 ERA with 26 strikeouts and 22 walks.

By calling up Parmelee, the Twins add one of the hottest hitters in the minor leagues to their roster. The 24-year-old has batted .338/.457/.645 with 17 homers in 282 plate appearances with Rochester this season, although he struggled badly in a stint with Minnesota earlier this year.

For more on the Twins, head over to Twinkie Town or stick with SB Nation Minnesota. For more around MLB, check out Baseball Nation.

Joe Mauer Placed On Waivers By Twins, No Claim Expected From Red Sox

The Minnesota Twins have placed catcher Joe Mauer on revocable waivers, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. In reverse order of win-loss standings through each league, teams will now have the opportunity to place claims on the player's contract, although it's unclear if the Twins actually want to get rid of Mauer's deal.

If a team claims Mauer, the Twins will be left with three options. They can either hand off the catcher's contract for nothing, attempt to negotiate a trade that would return talent, or pull the player back off waivers. Once the player has been claimed and pulled back, Minnesota can place him on waivers again, but they won't be able to pull him back if claimed.

This could be an opportunity for the Twins to shed major long-term financial commitments, as the Boston Red Sox proved recently by dealing over $200 million in guaranteed contracts to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Mauer is owed $142 million through 2018, by far the largest financial commitment on Minnesota's payroll.

The Twins don't appear to be looking for major financial savings these days, though. A team recently claimed first baseman Justin Morneau's contract, which includes a $14 million salary for 2013, but the Twins opted to pull him back and retain his services.

According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the Red Sox don't plan to place a claim on Mauer, so that removes one of the big-money possibilities from the mix. If any team claims Mauer, you'd have to believe that it's a team with major money to spend.

For more on the Twins, head over to Twinkie Town or stick with SB Nation Minnesota. For more around MLB, check out Baseball Nation.

Twins Vs. Mariners Preview: Minnesota Looks To Get Back In Win Column

The Minnesota Twins have lost eight straight games to the Seattle Mariners, and they'll be looking to change that on Wednesday night when the two teams match up for the third game of a four-game series. After getting blanked 1-to-0 on Monday night, the Twins mustered only four hits in a 5-to-2 loss on Tuesday night.

On the hill for the Twins will be Samuel Deduno, who has hurled five quality starts in his last seven appearances. Deduno, though, did fall back down to earth a bit in his last start on the road against the Texas Rangers, giving up 11 hits and seven earned runs in five innings. Deduno, though, has been markedly better at home this year, posting a 3.44 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in three starts.

The Twins will face Seattle starter Jason Vargas, who will be battling his own home/road issues. Vargas has been a different pitcher away from the extremely friendly confines of Safeco Field -- on the road this year his ERA has been a full two runs higher than it has been at home.

For more on the Twins, head over to Twinkie Town or stick with SB Nation Minnesota. For more around MLB, check out Baseball Nation.

Denard Span Injury: Twins Outfielder Day-To-Day With Shoulder Soreness

Denard Span's shoulder injury is acting up again, causing the team to call the center fielder "day-to-day" and rest him for Tuesday night's loss.

Twins Vs. Mariners Final Score: Minnesota Musters Only 4 Hits In Loss

Here's a rather simple way to lose a baseball game: muster up less hits than the number of your opponent's runs. That is exactly what happened to the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday, who tallied only four hits in a 5-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners. Twins ace Scott Diamond was tagged with his first non-quality start since July 21, but still pitched admirably, giving up five earned runs in seven innings while striking out two batters.

Seattle went up 2-0 in the third inning when third baseman Kyle Seager scored Brendan Ryan and Franklin Gutierrez with a double to right center. The Twins answered back in the bottom of the inning when Ben Revere plated Jamey Carroll with a sacrifice fly, but Seattle struck back in the top of the fifth with a Dustin Ackley three-run homer and wouldn't look back from there. Minnesota mounted a minuscule rally in the ninth off of Mariners reliever Charlie Furbush, but closer Tom Wilhelmsen snatched up a one-out save to lock the game down.

Game three of the series will start at 7:10 p.m CT on Wednesday.

Head over to Twinkie Town for more Twins news, and make sure to visit Lookout Landing for more Mariners coverage. Also check out Baseball Nation for even more analysis from around the league.

Mariners Vs. Twins Starting Lineups: Denard Span Scratched Due To Shoulder Soreness

Fresh off being carved up by Seattle ace Felix Hernandez in Monday's loss, the Minnesota Twins will hope to bounce back on Tuesday in game two against the Mariners at Target Field.

Outfielder Denard Span opened the day as the team's projected leadoff hitter set to man the middle of the outfield, but was a late scratch on manager Ron Gardenhire's lineup card due to shoulder soreness. Span was replaced by 27-year-old reserve speedster Darin Mastroianni, who has played admirably this season in Span's absence.

Suspended six games by the league for throwing a fastball at the head of Texas slugger Josh Hamilton, Minnesota left-hander Scott Diamond is currently appealing and will thus remain on the mound for the Twins in the short-term. Diamond is 10-5 with a sparkling 3.04 earned-run average this year, and remains one of the few bright spots in a messy Minnesota pitching rotation.

Here are the starting lineups:

Twins
1. Ben Revere - CF
2. Darin Mastroianni - RF
3. Joe Mauer - C
4. Josh Willingham - LF
5. Justin Morneau - 1B
6. Ryan Doumit - DH
7. Trevor Plouffe - 3B
8. Jamey Carroll - 2B
9. Pedro Florimon - SS
Scott Diamond - SP

Mariners
1. Dustin Ackley - 2B
2. Franklin Gutierrez - CF
3. Kyle Seager - 3B
4. Jesus Montero - DH
5. Justin Smoak - 1B
6. Miguel Olivo - C
7. Eric Thames - RF
8. Trayvon Robinson - LF
9. Brendan Ryan - SS
Hisashi Iwakuma - SP

Head over to Twinkie Town for more Twins news, and make sure to visit Lookout Landing for more Mariners coverage. Also check out Baseball Nation for even more analysis from around the league.

Trevor Plouffe In Danger Of Losing Starting Job

Minnesota Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe started off the season with a display of power and appeared to be one of the Twins' top up-and-coming players, but has since fallen on some hard times.

The third baseman is currently batting .241 and hasn't done anything at all since returning from the disabled list in July. The 26-year-old hasn't hit a single home run and is just 8-for-52 on the season.

Now Plouffe might be in danger of losing his grip on a daily spot in the lineup, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

"I'll take some of that responsibility," general manger Terry Ryan said. "Maybe I should have sent him out longer [on a minor league rehab]. He was rusty, but now it's time for him to step up and take that position and give us some thoughts that, 'OK, we don't need to address that.'

"He's at the prime of his career. He's been looking for a spot to call his own, and now here's his opportunity, so I hope he takes advantage of the situation and solidifies that. He's got the rest of the year to do it."

Plouffe still has time to turn it around, but the leash certainly sounds as though it's getting shorter.

For more on the Twins, please be sure to check out our blog Twinkie Town and SB Nation Minnesota for all the latest news and updates.

Twins Vs. Mariners Preview: Game 2 Set For Tuesday

After running into a dominant Felix Hernandez on Monday, the Minnesota Twins will try to even their series against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday.

The Twins were able to muster just five hits in a 1-0 loss to Hernandez and the Mariners Monday. They will look to have better success on Tuesday against Mariners' starter Hisashi Iwakuma (4-3, 3.64 ERA). Minnesota faced Iwakuma earlier this month and he limited them to just one run over seven innings in a 5-3 Mariner win.

Minnesota will counter with Scott Diamond (10-5, 3.04 ERA). Diamond leads Minnesota in wins and ERA, but hasn't recorded a decision in his last three starts. He was solid in his only outing against Seattle this season, tossing 6-2/3 innings while allowing just two runs.

The Twins are currently riding a cold streak, having won just three of their past 18 games.

Game Date & Time: Monday, Aug. 27, 7:10 p.m. CT

TV: FOX Sports North

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Minnesota. For more in-depth coverage of this series, check out Twins blog Twinkie Town and Mariners blog Lookout Landing. For more news, notes and analysis from around baseball, visit Baseball Nation.

Twins Vs. Mariners Final Score: Felix Hernandez Shuts Out Twins, Wins 1-0

Felix Hernandez ended his brilliant month of August the same way he started it: with a complete-game shutout. Hernandez shut out the Twins Monday and got just enough support for a 1-0 Mariners win.

Hernandez opened the month of August with a 1-0 shutout victory against the New York Yankees and closed it in similar style by allowing just five hits against the Twins. He improved to 13-5 on the season, including 4-0 in August. Over 32.2 innings in August, he's given up just five earned runs, posting a 1.38 ERA.

Twins starter Liam Hendriks nearly matched Hernandez, allowing just one earned run and three hits over nine innings. Hendriks shut out the Mariners for the first seven innings, but Eric Thames broke the scoreless tie with a solo home run in the eighth inning.

The Twins had a great opportunity to take the lead in the seventh inning when Justin Morneau led off the inning with a triple, but the next three batters grounded out, stranding Morneau at third.

The teams will play Game 2 of their four-game series Tuesday at 8:10 p.m. ET.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Minnesota. For more in-depth coverage of this series, check out Twins blog Twinkie Town and Mariners blog Lookout Landing. For more news, notes and analysis from around baseball, visit Baseball Nation.

Twins Roster Moves: P.J. Walters Could Be Part Of September Call-Ups

Minnesota Twins pitcher P.J. Walters, who is currently rehabbing a shoulder injury, could be back with the big league club once rosters expand next week, according to Twins assistant GM Rob Antony (via Ben Goessling).

Walters, who hasn't pitched for the Twins since June 13 due to shoulder inflammation, has appeared in five games since returning to action on Aug. 4. He has allowed nine earned runs in 11 innings during that time, but has struck out 13 batters and walked only five. Prior to the injury, Walters posted a 2-2 record with a 5.40 ERA in seven starts with the Twins, while maintaining middling peripherals.

In parts of four big league seasons with the Twins, Toronto Blue Jays and St. Louis Cardinals, Walters has a 6.47 ERA and a 1.75 K/BB ratio.

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Mariners Vs. Twins Preview: Minnesota Hosts Seattle On Monday

The Twins begin a series against Seattle on Monday.