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Twins-Blue Jays Preview

Sep 7, 2009 - 10:59 PM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Minnesota (68-68) at Toronto (61-75), 7:07 p.m. EDT

Joe Mauer is making a case for AL MVP while also doing his part to improve the Minnesota Twins' chances in the Central race. A visit to the Toronto Blue Jays appears to be helping.

The catcher will try to continue his red-hot hitting Tuesday night when the Twins and Blue Jays play the second of this four-game series.

Mauer leads the majors with a career-high .369 batting average after missing the opening month while recovering from offseason kidney surgery.

The three-time All-Star's outstanding season has made him a contender to become the fifth member of the Twins (69-68) to be named league MVP, potentially joining Zoilo Versalles (1965), Harmon Killebrew (1969), Rod Carew (1977) and teammate Justin Morneau (2006), who was the runner-up to Boston's Dustin Pedroia last year.

Mauer finished fourth in last year's MVP race, hitting .328 with a career-high 85 RBIs - three more than his total this season.

He had three hits and added two RBIs to spur Minnesota's five-run first inning en route to Monday's 6-3 win over Toronto (61-76).

"Amazing," Morneau said of Mauer. "The year he's having, it's unfortunate we're not in first place because he'd be, I mean, in my opinion he still should get the MVP, but he'd be running away with that thing."

Mauer has been outstanding in his last six games at Rogers Centre, batting .538 with six RBIs.

The Twins are second in the Central, 6 1/2 games behind first-place Detroit with seven meetings left between the clubs.

Minnesota will try to cut that gap by giving rookie Brian Duensing (2-1, 3.81 ERA) his first start against the Blue Jays as he looks for a fourth consecutive strong outing since being moved into the rotation.

The left-hander is 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA in his last three starts after allowing nine runs in 12 1-3 innings over five relief outings.

Duensing was terrific again Wednesday, scattering five hits with seven strikeouts in seven shutout innings before closer Joe Nathan blew the save by giving up four runs in the top of the ninth of a 4-2 loss to the White Sox.

"As of lately, the game's kind of slowed down for me on the mound," Duensing told the Twins' official Web site. "Just giving the team a chance to win is the main thing for me."

The Jays have dropped six of eight to start September, as their rotation has posted a 6.25 ERA.

Ricky Romero (11-7, 4.15) will take the mound looking to avoid a personal three-game slide.

The rookie left-hander was reached for seven runs - four in the first - with seven strikeouts and six walks in 4 1-3 innings of a 10-5 loss to the Yankees on Thursday. That came five days after he allowed three runs in 5 1-3 innings of a 3-2 loss at Boston.

Romero, though, was effective in his only start against Minnesota on April 14, yielding two runs in eight innings of a 3-2, 11-inning loss.

Toronto might be without Aaron Hill, who left Monday's game after three innings and took a flight home to Palm Harbor, Fla., after learning that his wife had gone into labor with the couple's first child. The All-Star second baseman had a hit in his only at-bat Monday, and has a .286 average with career highs in homers (31) and RBIs (94).

"He's real excited, a little nervous too, which I don't blame him for that," manager Cito Gaston said. "I hope everything goes well for them. I'm not going to worry about him getting back here, just hope that the baby's fine and she's fine, too."