clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

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

For more on the Twins, head over to Twinkie Town. For more on the Blue Jays, be sure to check out Bluebird Banter. And for more MLB news and expert analysis, visit Baseball Nation.

Photographs by Micah Taylor, clairity, and Fibonacci Blue used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.