News
Kauffman's been a field of dream for Twins
Minnesota (59-63) at Kansas City (47-74), 6:10 p.m. CT
By Rustin Dodd / MLB.com
08/22/09 12:08 AM ET
KANSAS CITY -- It was an hour before Friday night's series opener at Kauffman Stadium and the seats behind the Twins' third-base dugout were already overflowing.There were a handful of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau jerseys -- even an Adrian Peterson Vikings jersey sprinkled in.
The scene on Friday has become somewhat of a late-summer tradition for Twins fans, as thousands of Minnesotans have passed through Kauffman Stadium during the past decade.
And while Minnesota fans have been making themselves at home in the stands, the Twins have been doing much of the same on the field.
Entering Friday, the Twins were 27-14 at Kauffman Stadium since 2005. That includes a 2-1 series win earlier this season. They continued that run with a 5-4, 10-inning victory in Friday's series opener.
The Twins can improve on their recent success on the Royals' home turf on Saturday, when Minnesota rookie Brian Duensing takes the mound against Kyle Davies.
Of course, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire knows success in the past doesn't always equal more wins in the future.
That's not how baseball works, Gardenhire said on Friday.
"It doesn't matter what team's doing what," Gardenhire said. "When we play the Royals, it's always head-knocking, close ballgames -- no one ever gives up. It's never ever changed."
Perhaps Gardenhire is also thinking about last week, when the Royals took two out of three from the Twins at the Metrodome.
The Twins will also be without the services of Morneau for the fifth consecutive game. Morneau is at home in the Twin Cities recovering from an inner ear infection and won't be available for the weekend set.
Interestingly, Morneau is one guy whom Davies might have liked facing. Morneau is hitting .063 (1-for-16) off Davies in his career.
"It's always easier when there's a bat like Morneau missing," Royals manager Trey Hillman said. "But they've still got plenty of good pieces."
After this weekend, the Twins will have one more series in Kansas City from Sept. 25-27. And scenes like the one before Friday's game could slowly vanish.
Target Field opens next spring in Minnesota, and Twins fans won't have to travel to Kansas City to see outdoor baseball. But the Twins could get a small boost from the visiting fans on Saturday and Sunday. And those games are just the start of a six-week stretch, with 27 games against divisional opponents, including eight against the Royals.
"No matter who it is, you have to go out and win ballgames and you have to pitch," Gardenhire said. "And our schedule -- in our division, we've played well, but we still have to go out and win no matter what the schedule says."
Pitching matchupMIN: LHP Brian Duensing (0-1, 5.09 ERA)
With Francisco Liriano going on the 15-day disabled list with left arm fatigue, this start was awarded to Duensing. This will mark Duensing's second Major League start. His lone other outing came in a spot start against the White Sox on July 29, when he allowed two runs over five innings. This will be his first career start against the Royals KC: RHP Kyle Davies (4-8, 5.92 ERA)
Davies, even with a victory, had not pitched all that impressively in his previous two starts after being recalled from Triple-A Omaha. Last Sunday in Detroit, however, he went six innings and hung with the Tigers as he slipped past some jams with runners in scoring position. He left with the score tied at 2. Hillman thought that while Davies had trouble commanding his changeup and curve, he was locating his fastball much better against the Tigers. Harnessing the fastball has been Davies' primary problem. Davies gets another turn against the Twins, whom he beat on Aug. 11 with five innings in a blowout. Tidbits
Hillman was asked on Friday if he thought Mauer still had an outside shot at hitting .400. His answer? Probably not. "But if anyone can do it, it's Joe Mauer," Hillman said. ... Duensing played college baseball at the University of Nebraska with Kansas City's Alex Gordon. Duensing won't see Gordon on Saturday, though. Gordon was sent down to Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday. ... Since Gardenhire took over as manager in 2002, the Twins have a record of 222-190 (.533 winning percentage) over the final two months of the season. Tickets
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•Sunday: Twins (Carl Pavano, 10-9, 5.32) at Royals (Brian Bannister, 7-9, 4.44), 1:10 p.m. CT
• Monday: Orioles (Chris Tillman, 1-1, 4.80) at Twins (Scott Baker, 11-7, 4.62), 7:10 p.m. CT
• Tuesday: Orioles (TBD) at Twins (Armando Gabino, MLB debut), 7:10 p.m. CT
Rustin Dodd is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
