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Angels-Twins Preview

Aug 20, 2010 - 4:21 AM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Los Angeles (60-61) at Minnesota (70-50), 8:10 p.m. EDT

The Los Angeles Angels shipped out four players in exchange for Dan Haren last month in hopes of bolstering their starting rotation for the stretch run.

Without giving up anything, the first-place Minnesota Twins have gotten a major boost from Brian Duensing.

While Duensing tries to build on his first career shutout, Haren will be looking for his first road win in more than three months Friday night as the Angels make their first visit to Target Field.

Los Angeles (61-61) sent left-hander Joe Saunders and three minor leaguers to Arizona on July 25, adding Haren in their attempt to make a last-ditch run at a fourth consecutive AL West title.

Although Haren (1-3, 3.44 ERA) hasn't pitched poorly with his new team, the Angels have lost four of his five starts. They remain seven games behind Texas despite gaining ground with Thursday's 7-2 win over Boston.

Outfielder Torii Hunter hopes the victory was a turning point for the Angels. The veteran, who played for the Twins from 1998-2007, initiated a players-only meeting before the game, which may have helped Los Angeles snap a three-game losing streak.

"We had a little more energy, a little more bounce in our step," Hunter said. "There's music playing, cracking jokes in the dugout. That's what you've got to get back to: having fun."

The surging Twins (70-51) have been doing plenty of that, seizing a four-game lead over Chicago in the AL Central with a major league-best 24-9 run since the All-Star break.

Minnesota had won six in a row overall and nine straight at home before losing 11-0 to the White Sox on Thursday, and Twins manager Ron Gardenhire knows his team still has work to do.

"We expect it to be all the way down to the end," Gardenhire said. "We'll attack it as is."

With struggling starter Nick Blackburn in the minors, Duensing (6-1, 2.00) has provided a major lift for the Twins' rotation, going 3-0 with a 2.43 ERA in five starts after making his first 39 appearances of 2010 in relief.

After the left-hander pitched a three-hitter in a 2-0 win over Oakland on Saturday, Gardenhire compared him to former Minnesota ace Johan Santana in terms of his transition from the bullpen.

Santana split time between the bullpen and rotation in 2002 and 2003, then won the AL Cy Young Award as a starter in 2004.

"I think it's more challenging physically for the arm, but a lot of that comes from being mental, too," Duensing said of the transition. "If you can tell yourself your arm's ready, then it will be."

Duensing has a 1.42 ERA at home this year, one reason the Twins are 38-21 at their new ballpark.

Haren, meanwhile, hasn't won on the road since May 6 at Houston, going 0-4 with a 6.39 ERA in his last seven starts away from home. He didn't factor in the decision in his road debut with the Angels, giving up four runs and 10 hits in 6 1-3 innings of a 5-4 loss at Baltimore on Aug. 5.

The right-hander allowed four runs and nine hits in seven innings of Sunday's 4-1 home loss to Toronto.

"I've thrown the ball OK, but I don't think I've shown my capabilities," Haren said. "I expect more out of myself."