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Perkins, Twins try to avoid sweep against lowly Mariners

Aug 27, 2008 - 10:51 AM Minnesota (74-58) at Seattle (50-82), 4:40 pm EDT

SEATTLE (Ticker) -- The Seattle Mariners were supposed to be a contender in the American League West Instead, the cellar dwellers will settle for putting a damper on the chances of the surprising Minnesota Twins.

Glen Perkins and the Twins will try to snap a four-game losing streak and avoid a sweep by the Mariners on Wednesday.

The Twins completed a three-game sweep of the Mariners on August 17, but dropped two of three in a series from August 4-6.

Seattle stands 30 1/2 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (80-51) in the AL West, solidifying itself as one of the season's biggest disappointments. Meanwhile, the Twins dealt ace lefthander Johan Santana to the New York Mets and outfielder Torii Hunter to the Angels via free agency, but found a way to stay competitive.

They are two games behind the first-place Chicago White Sox (76-56) in the Central Division and 2 1/2 games shy of the Boston Red Sox (76-55) for the wild card.

Perkins (11-3, 3.90 ERA) is one the main reasons why Minnesota has been able to stay in the race. The 25-year-old lefthander has been a staple in the young starting rotation, which consists of five hurlers under the age of 27.

He has held opponents to three runs or less in seven of his last 10 outings and was a winner on August 17, tossing six stellar innings.

The Mariners will counter with Ryan Feierabend (0-1, 7.88) with hopes he can pitch them to their first four-game winning streak of the season.

The 23-year-old lefthander is coming off a solid no-decision against the Oakland Athletics on Friday in which he yielded one run and five hits in five innings. His 2008 debut wasn't as smooth, surrendering six runs and 10 hits in three innings against the Twins.