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Twins take aim at series win versus Mariners

Jun 2, 2013 - 1:24 PM (Sports Network) - After a thrilling finish to Saturday's matchup, the Minnesota Twins will try to take a series win against the Seattle Mariners in Sunday afternoon's rubber match at Target Field.

Trailing 4-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning it looked as if the Twins were in line for a second-straight loss after being defeated 3-0 in the opener. However three walks loaded the bases for the Twins and after Josh Willingham's sacrifice flyy, Ryan Doumit stroked a two-run triple to give the Twins a 5-4 walk-off victory.

Doumit was 3-for-5 in the game and also had a double, while the Twins as a team were just 4-for-28. Starter Kevin Correia allowed four runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings of work, while Caleb Thielbar pitched a scoreless top of the ninth to get the win.

Jason Bay went 2-for-5 with a pair of home runs and Kyle Seager also had two hits in five at bats with a home run. The Mariners wasted a strong effort from starter Aaron Harang (6 innings, one earned run) when Tom Wilhelmsen blew his third save of the season.

For the first time in nearly three years Jeremy Bonderman will make a start at the major league level on Sunday when he takes the hill for the Mariners.

Bonderman's last start came on October 1 of 2010 during his eighth and final season with the Detroit Tigers, the team he came up with as a 20-year-old. After missing the 2011 and 2012 seasons, Bonderman signed with the Mariners in December of 2012.

In 11 starts at the Triple-A level Bonderman is 2-4 with a 4.52 ERA.

Bonderman has plenty of experience against the Twins who he has made 10 appearances against in his career. Experience hasn't meant success though as Bonderman is 5-6 with a 5.75 ERA against the Twins.

The struggling Scott Diamond will try to get himself out of the backwards trend he has been on when he makes the start for Minnesota.

In early May, Diamond's ERA was sitting at an impressive 3.03. However, Diamond has really struggled in his last four starts and has seen his ERA jump by more than two full runs (5.22). In those four starts Diamond has failed to get past the sixth inning each time and has allowed a combined 19 runs.

The most recent outing for Diamond ended after 4 2/3 innings as he allowed four runs on eight hits against Milwaukee. The Twins did manage to win that game, 6-5, breaking a three-game losing streak when he starts.

In just two career starts against the Mariners Diamond is 0-1 with an ERA of 4.61 and just four strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings pitched.

A year ago Seattle took eight of 10 meetings with the Twins after also winning the season series in 2011.