The Minnesota Twins can pull off a momentum-building series victory over a tough Texas Rangers squad on Sunday, as the two teams will conclude their three-game set with an evening game in Arlington, Texas.
Sporting a rather impressive 19-23 record when playing away from Target Field this year, the Twins will give the ball to right-hander Cole De Vries in the finale to face Texas hurler Roy Oswalt. De Vries, who is currently replacing ineffective pitcher Liam Hendriks in Minnesota's rotation, most recently tossed two innings against Detroit on July 4 in a relief role, but should be at full health for Sunday's first pitch.
His 3.91 season ERA aside, the 27-year-old Eden Prairie native has not yet faced an offense quite as potent as the Rangers' in a full start, and will certainly have his work cut out against a lineup that includes one of the sport's scariest 3-through-6 hitters in Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre, Nelson Cruz and Michael Young. As such, De Vries will need to lean on an offense that will feature catcher Joe Mauer in the designated hitter position and Ryan Doumit behind he plate, which is a convenient luxury afforded to manager Ron Gardenhire.
Headed to the All-Star game for the fifth time in his career, the contact-hitting Mauer has been surprisingly dominant in games when he is working behind the plate, posting a .379 average (38 games). Though his .305 mark as a designated hitter (22 games) is hardly something to toss aside, it's interesting that allowing Mauer to play only on offense has actually hurt his production this season.
Here are Sunday evening's starting lineups:
Twins
1. Denard Span - CF
2. Ben Revere - RF
3. Joe Mauer - DH
4. Josh Willingham - LF
5. Justin Morneau - 1B
6. Ryan Doumit - C
7. Trevor Plouffe - 3B
8. Brian Dozier - SS
9. Jamey Carroll - 2B
Cole De Vries - SP
Rangers
1. Ian Kinsler - 2B
2. Elvis Andrus - SS
3. Josh Hamilton - DH
4. Adrian Beltre - 3B
5. Nelson Cruz - RF
6. Michael Young - 1B
7. David Murphy - LF
8. Mike Napoli - C
9. Craig Gentry - CF
Roy Oswalt - SP
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