Fresh off being swept by a rival Detroit Tigers squad over the weekend, the Minnesota Twins can get back on track on Memorial Day with the Oakland Athetics in town for a three-game series.
The Twins will look to lefty hurler Scott Diamond for another quality start in the series opener, as the 25-year-old youngster currently owns a sparkling 1.78 ERA through four starts this season. Diamond has yielded just three walks over 25.1 innings pitched, and has pitched into the sixth inning in each of his starts.
Hoping to provide a bit of a spark offensively for his talent-rich pitcher, manager Ron Gardenhire has decided to elevate reserve outfielder Darin Mastroianni to the No. 2 spot in Monday's order, thereby giving the speedy Ben Revere a day off against lefty Travis Blackley. Revere is hitting .311 against righties, but only .200 against left-handed pitchers this season.
Here are the full starting lineups for Monday's opener:
Twins
1. Denard Span - CF
2. Darin Mastroianni - RF
3. Joe Mauer - C
4. Josh Willingham - LF
5. Justin Morneau - 1B
6. Ryan Doumit - DH
7. Brian Dozier - SS
8. Trevor Plouffe - 3B
9. Alexi Casilla - 2B
Scott Diamond - SP
Athletics
1. Jemile Weeks - 2B
2. Coco Crisp - CF
3. Josh Reddick - RF
4. Johnny Gomes - DH
5. Brandon Inge - 3B
6. Kurt Suzuki - C
7. Kila Ka'aihue - 1B
8. Collin Cowgill - LF
9. Adam Rosales - SS
Travis Blackley - SP
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