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Twins-Royals Preview

Aug 21, 2009 - 5:01 AM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

Minnesota (58-62) at Kansas City (47-73), 8:10 p.m. EDT

With Nick Blackburn set to take the mound, the Minnesota Twins may miss Justin Morneau's support at the plate. For Kansas City Royals pitcher Luke Hochevar, however, the slugger's absence could be a much-needed break.

In a potentially high-scoring matchup, the Twins continue to make do without Morneau as they face the lowly Royals on Friday night.

Minnesota (58-63), which is 6 1/2 games behind first-place Detroit in the AL Central, has lost 13 of 20 entering this three-game series.

The Twins squandered 10 hits in an 11-1 loss to Texas on Thursday night. It was the third straight game the Twins have played without Morneau, who was sent back to Minnesota earlier that day and will be examined by a specialist Friday for an inner ear infection.

Morneau, a three-time All-Star and the 2006 AL MVP, hasn't shown much improvement this week.

"It's frustrating, that's all," said Morneau, hitting .298 with 28 home runs and an AL-high 94 RBIs. "You want to be out there."

Michael Cuddyer will likely replace Morneau at first base for the fourth straight contest as the Twins try to take advantage of a matchup with the AL-worst Royals (47-73) and Hochevar (6-6, 5.73 ERA), who has gone 0-3 with an 8.59 ERA in his last four starts.

The right-hander yielded six runs and a career-worst 12 hits in four innings of Kansas City's 10-3 loss to Detroit on Saturday night.

Hochevar is 1-1 with a 3.65 ERA in two career starts against Minnesota.

Blackburn (8-8, 4.29) has been even worse than Hochevar in recent weeks, losing three straight starts and going 0-4 with a 10.17 ERA in his last six outings. He had one of his worst starts of the season against the Royals on Aug. 11, surrendering six runs and six hits while lasting 1 2-3 innings in a 14-6 loss.

In his next outing, the right-hander gave up six runs and six hits, three of which were home runs, in 2 1-3 innings of Minnesota's 7-4 loss to Cleveland on Sunday.

Blackburn is 1-2 with a 3.91 ERA in four starts versus the Royals.

David DeJesus, who is 6 for 12 against Blackburn, was one of the few bright spots at the plate for Kansas City in a 4-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday, hitting a solo home run.

It was the last game of a 4-5 road trip for the Royals. They now begin a six-game stretch at home, where they have posted a 5.78 ERA in losing 21 of 27.

Royals closer Joakim Soria, though, should be available for this series after twisting his ankle while following through on the second pitch of a perfect inning in a 5-4 win over the White Sox on Tuesday night. Soria, who has converted 20 of 22 save opportunities, experienced little swelling overnight and could have pitched Wednesday.

Soria has 10 saves in 10 chances versus the Twins, posting a 0.44 ERA in 16 lifetime appearances. He has three saves in this season's series, helping Kansas City win five of the nine meetings.