Seeking to pull themselves out of last place in the American League Central, the Minnesota Twins will open the second half of their schedule with a manageable three-game set at home with the Oakland Athletics.
The Twins will have the unfortunate task of facing promising Oakland right-hander A.J. Griffin, a 24-year-old hurler who starred at the University of San Diego and broke into the big leagues less than a month ago. Griffin not only has posted three consecutive six-inning starts to open his MLB career, but has yielded a grand total of nine hits and five walks through 18 innings, good enough for a sparkling 0.78 WHIP.
Manager Ron Gardnehire will opt to break the series with starter Francisco Liriano in game one, in a clear vote of confidence for the talented yet inconsistent left-hander. Though he has lowered his brutal early season ERA by more than two runs since rejoining the rotation, Liriano's 10 walks in his last two first half apperances could be a sign of things to come.
Here are the starting lineups for Friday:
Twins
1. Denard Span - CF
2. Ben Revere - RF
3. Joe Mauer - DH
4. Josh Willingham - LF
5. Justin Morneau - 1B
6. Trevor Plouffe - 3B
7. Brian Dozier - SS
8. Drew Butera - C
9. Jamey Carroll - 2B
Francisco Liriano - SP
Athletics
1. Coco Crisp - CF
2. Jemile Weeks - 2B
3. Josh Reddick - RF
4. Yoenis Cespedes - DH
5. Chris Carter - 1B
6. Jonny Gomes - LF
7. Derek Norris - C
8. Brandon Inge - 3B
9. Brandon Hicks - SS
A.J. Griffin - SP
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