Twins 2 - 3 Cardinals
Final
  for this game

Lackey seeks better results vs. Twins

Jun 15, 2015 - 2:35 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - John Lackey hopes to have better results when he takes the mound Monday in the first of four straight games versus the Minnesota Twins at Busch Stadium.

The first two installments will be played in St. Louis and the final two games are slated for Target Field.

Lackey was trounced to the tune of 10 runs (8 earned) and 12 hits in four innings of an 11-3 setback at Colorado last Monday, and was aiming for his third straight win. He dropped to 4-4 in 12 starts with a 3.74 earned run average and is 2-3 in his past five decisions.

The right-hander has pitched well at home, going 4-1 with a 1.73 ERA in six starts, and is 8-6 with a 3.10 ERA in 18 career starts against Minnesota.

St. Louis was gunning for a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals on Sunday, but the finale of the I-70 series was postponed because of rain. No makeup date has been made.

"They made a good call to hold on," said Cards manager Mike Matheny. "We could have gotten into the first inning and had a mess on our hands, and lost our starter. ... I know sometimes people are looking in the sky wondering why we are not out there playing, but this is one of those that this was the exact right thing to do."

The NL Central-leading Cardinals have won three straight and 14 of their last 19 games, and sit six games ahead of Pittsburgh in the division.

Minnesota salvaged the finale of a three-game series with Sunday's 4-3 win over the Texas Rangers and halted a five-game slide. It was Minnesota's fourth win in the last 13 games.

Byron Buxton scored the winning run in his major league debut, crossing the plate on Eddie Rosario's double in the ninth inning. Buxton, a 21-year-old outfielder seen by many as baseball's top prospect, was called up Sunday from Double-A Chattanooga, where he was hitting .283 with 12 triples, six home runs and 20 stolen bases in 59 games.

The former No. 2 overall draft pick failed to reach base in his first three at-bats, striking out twice. He bunted in the ninth with the go-ahead run at second base after Eduardo Escobar's leadoff double off Shawn Tolleson.

"He doesn't show a lot externally. He's a pretty self-controlled kid, which is a pretty good attribute to have," Twins manager Paul Molitor said of Buxton. "He was a little anxious trying to see the ball. They got him to chase a few times."

Brian Dozier homered and Shane Robinson tripled twice for the Twins, who are 1 1/2 games behind Kansas City for the AL Central lead. Casey Fien threw two scoreless innings of relief of starter Phil Hughes, who gave up three runs over six innings of work. Glen Perkins notched his 22nd save in the ninth.

Trevor May takes the mound for the Twins Monday and was dealt a hard-luck loss in Tuesday's 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Kansas City Royals, charged with one run and seven hits in six innings. May was coming off seven scoreless innings of two-hit ball at Boston on June 3.

May will face the Cardinals for the first time.

Minnesota and St. Louis haven't played since 2009, when the Twins won two of three meetings at Busch Stadium.






Related News