The Minnesota Twins will try to notch their seventh win in a row when they play the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday afternoon in Anaheim, Calif.
Minnesota is going for a three-game sweep after taking the series opener 5-3 on Friday and winning the second matchup 16-5 on Saturday. The victories improved the Twins’ record to .500 after their 7-13 start to the season.
A big part of the Twins’ recent success has been the strong performance of veteran first baseman Carlos Santana, who has homered in three consecutive games. Santana went 2-for-4 with a double, a homer and four RBIs on Saturday and he will look to stay hot in the series finale against the Angels.
Santana said he finally is seeing pitches well after a cold start to the season.
“I’m looking for my pitch,” Santana said. “I know myself. I know what kind of player I can be this season, so I don’t try to do too much. I’m looking (to hit) up the middle all the time, so now I feel more comfortable. …
“I mean, this is not the first time in my career I started slow. But into the year, I finish strong. I never stop. I’m working hard every day. I know the team might need me, and I need to put in the work to help my team.”
The Angels hope that left-hander Reid Detmers (3-1, 2.12 ERA) can spoil the Twins’ hopes for a sweep on the road. Detmers has struck out 34 batters in 29 2/3 innings to start the season.
In his most recent outing, Detmers allowed four runs on six hits in seven innings against the high-powered Baltimore Orioles on Monday. He picked up his first loss, which followed a previous win over the Orioles and back-to-back wins against the Boston Red Sox.
Detmers is 0-1 with a 5.52 ERA in three career starts against the Twins. He has walked six and struck out 23 in 14 2/3 innings in those games.
Minnesota is set to counter with its ace, right-hander Pablo Lopez, who is 1-2 with a 4.39 ERA to start the season. Lopez is looking to bounce back from a disappointing performance his last time out in which he allowed three runs on four hits in four innings against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday.
This will be Lopez’s third career start against the Angels. In his first two outings, he went 1-1 with a 3.75 ERA, walking four and striking out 16 in 12 innings.
The Angels are 3-8 at home this season. The Twins are 7-7 on the road.
Angels manager Ron Washington said he wanted his players to move on from the first two games of the series and put all their focus into Sunday’s series finale.
“You just go home and get yourself some rest but the first thing you do is look yourself in the mirror,” Washington said. “If you feel like you did everything you can do, then you go home and get some rest. It happens. I’m just hoping for the time we can do that.”
–Field Level Media
