Starting Monday afternoon, the Minnesota Twins will travel to Comerica Park for a three-game series with the Detroit Tigers, a team that they have yet to beat this season, in hopes of trying to get themselves back on the winning track.
The Twins and Tigers have played two games against each other this season, both of them at Target Field, and both of them resulting in losses for Minnesota. The Twins lost 10-2 to the Tigers on May 10, and 9-7 on May 11.
In the hopes of getting a victory today and potentially avoiding another losing streak, the Twins will send Nick Blackburn (4-4, 3.20 ERA) to the mound this afternoon. Blackburn has been the Twins' best starter as of late, having gone 3-0 with a 1.72 ERA in his five starts during the month of May. He was particularly brilliant in his last start on Tuesday, pitching a complete game as the Twins defeated the Seattle Mariners by a score of 4-2.
The Tigers will send veteran right-hander Brad Penny (4-4, 4.45 ERA) to the mound on Monday afternoon. Penny had posted an ERA of 0.83 in his first three May starts, but then got bombarded by the Pittsburgh Pirates, giving up five runs and six hits in 5.1 innings of work in a game the Tigers lost 10-1. In his last start, he pitched three scoreless innings against the Tampa Bay Rays before a rainout postponed the game.
First pitch for this one is scheduled for 12:05 PM Central time from Comerica Park. You can check out the Game Thread over at Twinkie Town for all of the in-game action, and come back here for your recap when everything has finished in Detroit.