Minnesota (49-43) at Detroit (44-48)

The Minnesota Twins hope to continue their dominance of Detroit starter Jeremy Bonderman as they close out a two-game set with the Tigers at Comerica Park.

No team has given the 21-year-old right-hander more trouble since he entered the league last year than Minnesota. In five appearances—including four starts—against the Twins, Bonderman is 0-4 with an 11.34 ERA.

While Bonderman’s last appearance against Minnesota was one inning of relief on Sept. 28, his last start was a 6-2 loss at the Metrodome on Sept. 19. In 3 2-3 innings of that game, Bonderman allowed five runs and 10 hits.

On Monday, pinch-hitter Jose Offerman’s two-run single in the seventh inning led the Twins to a 3-1 victory in the series opener over the Tigers. Terry Mulholland gave up one run on four hits in 6 2-3 innings as the Twins posted just their second win in eight games.

Mulholland became just the third pitcher to beat all 30 major league teams.

“That’s a pretty special achievement,” Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said. “He knows how to pitch, and he did a great job tonight. We made sure to give him a game ball.”

J.C. Romero, Juan Rincon and Joe Nathan combined on 2 1-3 scoreless innings of relief to complete the four-hitter.

The Twins also learned that they’ll be without injured catcher Joe Mauer a little longer than expected. Mauer went on the 15-day disabled list with a recurring knee injury, retroactive to Friday. Mauer was on the DL from April 7 through June 2 with a torn left medial meniscus, and still has soreness in the knee.

He developed soreness and swelling before the All-Star break after switching medications. An MRI exam revealed inflammation, and Mauer was unable to catch in a weekend series against Kansas City.

He was batting .308 with six homers and 17 RBIs in 107 at-bats, and had recently moved into the No. 3 spot in the lineup.

Detroit, meanwhile, has dropped just four of its last 11 games. In Monday’s loss, Jason Johnson allowed three runs on seven hits in eight-plus innings, eight days after pitching a five-hit shutout in Minnesota.

Johnson retired 10 straight batters until Lew Ford led off the seventh with a double.