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Aug 1, 2015 - 4:56 AM The Minnesota Twins' grip on a wild-card spot is slipping.

Their advantage could disappear entirely if they can't bounce back from an abysmal performance and find a way to keep Nelson Cruz in check.

Minnesota tries to avoid its 10th loss in 13 games Saturday night against the visiting Seattle Mariners.

The Twins (53-49) ended a four-game skid by cranking out 13 hits in a 9-5 win in Thursday's series opener, but struck out 11 times while being held to one hit by Taijuan Walker in a 1-0 defeat Friday.

Baltimore and Toronto won Friday to pull within one game of Minnesota, and four other teams are within 3 1/2 games.

"Overall, the homestand hasn't been good," manager Paul Molitor said of his club's 2-5 stretch at Target Field. "You just got to kind of accept every day when you hit the pillow where you're at. No sense trying to overanalyze things."

Cruz dominated at the dish for Seattle (47-57), going 4 for 5 with his 27th home run and 16th double. He's 20 for 50 with six homers and 10 RBIs during an 11-game hitting streak.

The star slugger is batting .400 in his last 11 at Target Field with three homers in the past five.

While Jesus Montero also provided a spark Friday by homering upon being recalled from Triple-A Tacoma, Robinson Cano missed his third consecutive game due to an abdominal injury and Logan Morrison (thumb) sat out a second straight.

Kyle Gibson (8-8, 3.48 ERA) looks to get back on track for the Twins after rough outings against the Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees. He gave up a total of 11 earned runs in 10 1-3 innings after allowing nine in his previous six outings.

Gibson's success this year has been fueled by his ability to tighten up in key situations. Opponents had been hitting .165 against him with runners in scoring position before going 5 for 14 in his last two games. He escaped a few jams Sunday against the Yankees before getting tagged for five runs in the sixth inning.

"Really kind of turned what I felt like was going to be a pretty decent day into a pretty sour day," he said.

The right-hander is 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA over his last three starts against Seattle, including a strong outing in a 4-2 win at Safeco Field on April 26. Gibson gave up two runs over seven-plus innings.

The Mariners are 1 for 18 with runners in scoring position against Gibson in four all-time meetings.

Mike Montgomery (4-4, 3.20) is 0-2 while allowing 16 earned runs over 20 1-3 innings in his last four starts, seeing his ERA nearly double from 1.62.

Home runs and walks have recently become concerns for the rookie left-hander. He has surrendered seven homers in his last five starts after allowing one through his first six, and he's walked nine in his last two after totaling 10 in his previous six games.

He limited Arizona to two earned runs Monday, but was taken deep twice and walked four over 6 2-3 innings in a 4-3 loss.

Brian Dozier is 7 for his last 19 off lefties with two homers and two doubles.

Miguel Sano, who homered Friday, has a 1.073 OPS during a seven-game hitting streak with two doubles, two homers and five walks.

Trevor Plouffe, tied for second on the team with 55 RBIs, is expected to return after missing two games for the birth of his son.






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