Silva hopes for offense

[Durango53]

http://msn.foxsports.com/fe/img/MLB/Jellies/Large/12.gif VS http://msn.foxsports.com/fe/img/MLB/Jellies/Large/9.gif

GAME: Minnesota Twins (57-54) at Seattle Mariners (47-63).

TIME: Monday, 10:05 p.m. EDT.

The Minnesota Twins begin a crucial road trip that they hope will get them back into contention in the AL wild card race when they meet the Seattle Mariners in the opener of a three-game set.

Minnesota starter Carlos Silva has been plagued by poor run support, going 0-2 with a 2.13 ERA over his last five outings. The Twins have scored 15 runs in Silva's last five starts.

The right-hander gave up three runs and five hits over eight innings last Wednesday in a 4-3 win over Oakland. Silva did not issue a walk for the 13th time in 20 starts this season.

Silva improved to 3-0 with a 1.08 ERA against Seattle in a 4-1 win at Safeco Field on April 6. He yielded one run and scattered nine hits over seven innings, inducing the Mariners to ground into three double plays.

STANDINGS: Twins - 3rd place, 15½ GB, AL Central. Mariners - 4th place, 16½ GB, AL West.

TWINS PROBABLE STARTER:http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/images/gameday/mugshots/400067.jpg
Silva (7-5, 3.27 ERA). Silva is 3-3 with a 2.60 ERA in nine road starts.
MIN: RHP Carlos Silva
• 7-5, 3.27 ERA in 2005
• 1-0, 1.29 ERA vs. SEA in 2005

MARINERS PROBABLE STARTER:http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/images/gameday/mugshots/219194.jpg
Gil Meche (10-8, 5.04 ERA). Meche is 6-0 with a 3.46 ERA over his last seven home starts. The right-hander was tagged for a season-high eight runs and nine hits over 4 2-3 innings in a 10-7 loss at Detroit last Wednesday. Meche is 5-1 with a 4.01 ERA in seven outings against the Twins.
SEA: RHP Gil Meche
• 10-8, 5.04 ERA in 2005
• 0-0, 8.31 ERA vs. MIN in 2005


OFFENSIVE LEADERS:
Twins - Shannon Stewart, .280 avg.; Jacque Jones, 17 HRs; Jones and Torii Hunter, 56 RBIs; Hunter, 63 runs and 23 SBs. Mariners - Suzuki, .304 avg., 75 runs and 24 SBs; Richie Sexson, 27 HRs and 84 RBIs.

SEASON SERIES: Twins, 2-1.

STREAKS AND NOTES:
Twins - 3B Michael Cuddyer did not travel with the team to Seattle and will likely sit out for at least a week with a sore right knee. ... RHP Matt Guerrier has not allowed a run over his last eight appearances spanning 12 innings. ... RF Jones is batting .300 (6-for-20) against Meche. Mariners - RF Suzuki is hitting .231 (3-for-13) against Silva. ... 2B Willie Bloomquist is batting .320 (8-for-25) over the last six games. ... 1B Sexson is batting .293 (24-for-82) over his last 23 contests.

ROAD/HOME RECORDS:
Twins - 25-28 on the road; Mariners - 25-28 at home.

Player to watch
Jacque Jones is 6-for-20 (.300) with two homers and four RBIs in his career against Meche.

Quotable:
"It's a long trip, and it's a big trip. Hopefully, we're playing better baseball." -- Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, on the upcoming sojourn

Quick hits
The six hits allowed by Joe Mays in the first inning Sunday tied the Twins' season high for most hits allowed in an inning. ... Mays has given up 10-plus hits in three of his last four starts. ... Matt Guerrier has not allowed a run in his last 11 appearances. ... Jones tied the team's season high with four strikeouts in Sunday's loss.

On television
• MIN: FSN North
• SEA: FSN HD

On radio
• MIN: WCCO 830 AM
• SEA: KOMO 1000 AM

On deck
• Tuesday: at Mariners, 9:05 p.m. CT
• Wednesday: at Mariners, 9:05 p.m. CT
• Friday: at A's, 9:05 p.m. CT

[Timberwolf]

What a dissapointing loss. Twins had no business in losing this game especially with a 4-0 lead. Carlos has been outspoken about the lack of run support he got. Well he had that big lead tonight. You would think he would shut the M's down and go for the complete game. After all, he has been great all season not to mention the Mariners are as anemic as the Twins are offensively. Unfortunately, the Mariners hit hard in the fourth and fifth inning as they were able to tie the game. Carlos did okay, but man with a 4-0 lead, he should have kept it at bay. It's rare that the Twins offense break out like this to start the game so when a Twins pitcher has that opportunity to have a big lead, he ought to keep it at bay.

Twins hitters did not come through with a big hit late in the game. Twins had the bases loaded and runners at first and third, but they did not get the runner home. Can't fault Lecroy there to make the final out since Ichiro made a great catch. Twins ineptitude late in the game makes Carlos pitching performance in the middle innings frustrating to watch.

I thought Jesse Crain was better off pitching to Beltre at 3-0 than giving him a walk. Jermey Reed is a solid hitter while Beltre is a hit or miss. It seemed Crain was too scared to throw a strike to Reed which makes walking Beltre even more baffling. It's too bad because Jesse was about to get out of it.

Shannon, Joe Mauer, Jason Bartlett, and yes Matthew Lecroy had a good game tonight.

This is a game the Twins should have won. This loss just is typical of the Twins frustrating season.