Currently: The Minnesota Twins’ success during interleague play has them on the verge of matching their longest winning streak in almost two years.
The surging Twins look for an eighth consecutive victory as they continue their road series with the San Diego Padres on Wednesday night.
Brendan Harris and Brian Buscher each homered on consecutive pitches off Trevor Hoffman in the ninth inning, helping Minnesota (41-36) to a 3-1 victory over San Diego on Tuesday.
“Harris hitting a home run and Buscher backing it up, that was just huge for us,” said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire of the pair, who have a combined four home runs. “You know facing Hoffy, it isn’t going to happen very often. It’s exciting for our ballclub.”
One win away from tying their longest winning streak since taking eight in row from July 14-21, 2006, the Twins have recorded all their victories during their current run against NL teams. They are 10-3 in interleague play, outscoring their opponents 72-34.
Buscher had two hits while Justin Morneau went 2-for-3 to extend his hitting streak to 12 games Tuesday for Minnesota, which is 10-2 since losing six in a row and still 1 1/2 games back of first-place Chicago in the AL Central.
Morneau is batting .375 (18-for-48) with 15 RBIs during his current streak.
Minnesota will likely need a strong effort against future Hall of Famer and San Diego’s scheduled starter Greg Maddux (3-5, 3.17 ERA), who is 0-2 with a 2.70 ERA in eight starts since posting his 350th victory on May 10 against Colorado.
The right-hander pitched well enough to win in his most recent outing, allowing a run and five hits in seven innings of San Diego’s 6-2 victory over Detroit on Friday.
“Hang with it. Hey, no one feels sorry for you in this game,” said Maddux, who has received more than three runs of support just three times in his 16 starts. “Do it again in five days. Maybe you’ll get one then.”
Maddux will try to do it in his second appearance against Minnesota while looking to help San Diego (32-46) avoid a fourth straight loss. He allowed five runs in seven innings while with Atlanta in a 6-5, 15-inning loss to the Twins in 2002.
Minnesota’s starting pitchers have been a big reason for their recent success, combining to go 6-0 with a 1.53 ERA in the last seven contests.
Glen Perkins (3-2, 4.39) looks for his second straight win as he takes the ball for the Twins. He allowed three runs and 10 hits in a career-high eight innings of a 9-3 victory over Washington on Thursday.
“The key to pitching is making pitches when they count,” said Perkins, who will make his first appearance against San Diego. “Getting that groundball or getting that popout to the infield when you have guys in scoring position and less than two outs. You have to make big pitches like that.”
The left-hander will make his first appearance against San Diego, which has lost seven of eight and is 3-10 against AL teams.
Adrian Gonzalez had two hits and rookie Chase Headley drove in the lone run for the Padres, who have lost each of their last three games by two runs.
Gonzalez is hitting .400 (8-for-20) in his last six contests and is 6-for-16 in his last four games against Minnesota.
Twinkie Town
Gaslamp Ball
