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Tigers-Twins Preview

May 2, 2010 - 10:16 PM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

Detroit (15-10) at Minnesota (15-9), 8:10 p.m. EDT

The Minnesota Twins couldn't get much going at the plate against the Detroit Tigers last week. Doing so could be even more challenging if they don't have Joe Mauer.

In a matchup for first place in the AL Central, the Twins may again be without the reigning AL MVP as they host the surging Tigers in the opener of a three-game series Monday night.

Minnesota (16-9) leads Detroit (16-10) by a half-game heading into the teams' second series of the season. The Twins beat the Tigers 2-0 on Tuesday night to kick off a three-game set, but dropped the next two contests, including a 3-0 loss in the finale Thursday.

That was the only time Minnesota has been shut out this season. The Twins now will likely have to get by without Mauer, who is expected to miss his third straight game and perhaps the rest of this series due to a bruised left heel.

Mauer was hurt Friday night in a 9-3 win over Cleveland when he awkwardly stepped on first base while trying to beat out an infield single.

"Joe is really sore," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We're going to rest him until it is right."

Mauer went 1 for 11 in this season's first series with the Tigers, but he's batting .345 overall. Last season, he became the first catcher to be voted AL MVP since Ivan Rodriguez for Texas in 1999.

The Twins didn't seem to miss Mauer on Sunday, getting a strong performance from his replacement and posting a season-best 20 hits in an 8-3 win over the Indians. Minnesota recalled Wilson Ramos from Triple-A Rochester to give it some depth at catcher, and the top prospect was impressive in his major league debut, going 4 for 5.

Ramos is the first Twin with four hits in his debut since Kirby Puckett on May 8, 1984.

"I was relaxed because I played in Venezuela and there's a lot of crazy fans," Ramos said. "Now, I am very excited and very happy. Kirby Puckett - I never thought of my name with his."

If Ramos gets a second straight start, he will be Scott Baker's batterymate. Baker (2-2, 5.72 ERA) struggled versus the Tigers on Wednesday night, giving up five runs and nine hits in four innings of an 11-6 loss. The right-hander is 5-4 with a 4.60 ERA in 18 starts against Detroit.

Detroit will counter with Max Scherzer (1-1, 4.23), who matched up with Baker on Wednesday and didn't fare any better than his counterpart, giving up six runs and 10 hits in 3 2-3 innings. It was the right-hander's first appearance against the Twins.

Scherzer came into that game with a 2.63 ERA over his first four starts with Detroit.

The Tigers got an outstanding start from Justin Verlander on Sunday en route to a 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Detroit has won a season-high five straight, averaging 6.4 runs and batting .309.

Rookie center fielder Austin Jackson continues to be a bright spot for the Tigers, going 13 for 23 (.565) during the Tigers' winning streak. He went 4 for 8 with four runs in the final two games of last week's series with the Twins.

Jackson has filled in nicely as Detroit's leadoff hitter after being acquired in a trade that sent Curtis Granderson to the Yankees in the offseason.

"Right now, everybody is pretty much on his bandwagon because he's done so well," manager Jim Leyland said. "When is the last time you heard people talking about Curtis Granderson here? And, I don't mean that disrespectfully."