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Twins attempt to remain atop AL Central, solve Meche

Aug 10, 2008 - 7:42 AM Minnesota (65-51) at Kansas City (53-64) 2:10 pm EDT

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- If the Minnesota Twins have any designs of remaining on top of the American League Central longer than they did the last time they took over first place in the division, they'll need to find an answer to the red-hot Gil Meche.

Meche attempts to secure a win in his fifth consecutive start on Sunday when the Kansas City Royals hope to avoid a three-game sweep against the division-leading Twins.

Last Sunday, Minnesota took over first place in the AL Central for the first time since mid-May with a home win over Cleveland. The team dropped its next two games on the road vs. Seattle, allowing the Chicago White Sox (69-46) to reclaim the lead.

However, the Twins moved back atop the division on Saturday courtesy of their 7-3 win over the Royals and Chicago's 6-2 defeat to the Boston Red Sox.

To guarantee their place atop the division, they would have to hand Meche (10-9, 4.17 ERA) his first loss since before the All-Star break.

The righthander, who is 4-0 with a 1.72 ERA since the "Midsummer Classic," overcame five walks by striking out nine batters, allowing two runs and four hits over six frames in Monday's 4-3 win over Boston.

He'll be opposed by Scott Baker (7-3, 3.86), who has turned in two straight no-decisions after a stretch in which he won five of six outings. The righthander, who is 4-2 with a 2.98 ERA in seven career starts against the Royals, surrendered a season-high six runs and nine hits over 5 1/3 innings in Tuesday's 8-7 loss against Seattle.