Owning better than a .500 record over their last 13 games, the Minnesota Twins are finally starting to bring their abysmal start to the season back to respectability. The difference, it seems, has been at the plate, as the trio of Joe Mauer, Josh Willingham, and Justin Morneau continues to punish opposing pitchers and, above all, remain healthy throughout.
And with a skidding Detroit Tigers squad in town for a three-game weekend series, the Twins are faced with a prime opportunity to pick up a win or two against a Tigers lineup that can't seem to drive in any runs. Minnesota swept Detroit in a brief two-game series earlier in the month at Comerica Park, and managed to put a whopping 15 runs on the board over the two games alone.
Backed by the privileged of getting to play on their home field and also being 2-0 against Detroit this year, the Twins will hope that lefty starter Anthony Swarzak can stifle a Detroit lineup that features a handful of tough outs. Despite still clinging onto their lofty preseason World Series aspirations, the Tigers are just 9-12 on the road this season and have dropped seven of their last ten games. So if there's ever a time for Minnesota to take advantage of a good team currently on the skids, it's right now.
Here are the lineups for Friday's opener:
Twins
1. Denard Span - CF
2. Ben Revere - RF
3. Joe Mauer - C
4. Josh Willingham - DH
5. Justin Morneau - 1B
6. Brian Dozier - SS
7. Trevor Plouffe - LF
8. Alexi Casilla - 2B
9. Jamey Carroll - 3B
Anthony Swarzak - SP
Tigers
1. Quintin Berry - CF
2. Andy Dirks - LF
3. Miguel Cabrera - 3B
4. Prince Fielder - 1B
5. Delmon Young - DH
6. Brennan Boesch - RF
7. Jhonny Peralta - SS
8. Alex Avila - C
9. Ryan Raburn - 2B
Drew Smyly - SP
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