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Twins-Mariners Preview

May 31, 2010 - 5:20 AM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

Minnesota (29-20) at Seattle (19-29), 10:10 p.m. EDT

After appearing to be headed in the right direction, the Seattle Mariners experienced a disappointing end to their brief road trip.

Given their recent history at home against Minnesota, returning to Safeco Field to face the Twins would seem like a good way to bounce back, especially with AL ERA leader Doug Fister taking the mound.

The Twins, though, will attempt to match their season's longest win streak in Monday night's opener of a four-game series.

The Mariners (19-30) ended a 5-19 stretch by winning five of seven, but suffered consecutive walkoff losses to end a three-game set against the Los Angeles Angels. After Brandon League gave up Kendry Morales' 10th-inning grand slam on Saturday, Seattle closer David Aardsma yielded a three-run shot to Howie Kendrick in a 9-7 loss Sunday.

The Mariners blew a season-high, five-run lead for their seventh loss when leading after six innings.

"It's happened quite often to us, so it's not anything new," outfielder Milton Bradley said. "To happen on back-to-back days like this, it's just deja vu."

Fister (3-2, 2.03 ERA) is hoping the change of venue will help him get his first win at home since April 19. The right-hander, who has never faced the Twins, has a 2.40 ERA in his last four starts at Safeco, but hasn't come away with a win while receiving 2.3 runs of support per outing.

He gave up three runs and nine hits over seven innings Tuesday against Detroit, but the Mariners rallied for a 5-3 victory.

Fister will next face a Twins' team that outscored opponents 24-9 over four straight wins and completed a home sweep of former AL West leader Texas on Sunday night. The Twins scored five runs in the first three innings in a 6-3 victory that completed the sweep.

That win, however, ended with center fielder Denard Span colliding with second baseman Orlando Hudson while catching the game's final out. The two players walked off under their own power, but their status is unknown for this game.

"It happened so fast that I didn't really realize what happened until I hit the ground," Span said.

Span is hitting .404 (19 for 47) over his last 11 games and Hudson is batting .438 (7 for 16) during the team's win streak. The absence of those two players could hurt Francisco Liriano's attempt to snap a three-game slide.

Liriano (4-3, 3.17) had his chance to end that losing streak Wednesday when he allowed two runs over seven innings against the visiting New York Yankees, but he left the 3-2 defeat with the score tied.

The AL pitcher of the month in April will try to build off that outing by earning his first win in Seattle. Liriano is 0-1 with a 2.50 ERA in his three outings there and 3-2 with a 3.00 ERA in seven overall matchups.

He beat the Mariners while giving up five runs over five innings last May but didn't get a decision at Safeco on June 5 despite allowing one run and three hits over six frames.

The Twins split their 10 games last season against the Mariners but have dropped two of three in each of their past three series in Seattle. Minnesota has also lost a season-high three in a row on the road and eight of 12 since April 27.

The Twins' previous five-game win streak was April 6-10, and they last dropped four straight on the road July 22-25.