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Twins look for winning homestand vs. Royals

Sep 11, 2008 - 10:18 AM Kansas City (61-83) at Minnesota (80-65) 1:10 p.m. EDT

MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Before the Minnesota Twins hit the road for another lengthy trip, they will look to finish off a winning homestand.

After capturing the first two games from the Kansas City Royals, the Twins go for a series sweep and their eighth win in the last nine games against the Royals on Thursday.

The Twins have been road warriors. The current six-game stretch at home, in which they have a 3-2 record, was sandwiched between road trips. The first, a 14-game, 15-day road trip, was due to the Republican National Convention being hosted in Minneapolis. Up next is a 10-game journey.

Minnesota went 5-9 during the more than two weeks away from home, but still find itself one game behind the Chicago White Sox (81-64) in the American League Central.

Francisco Liriano (5-3, 3.33) takes the mound for the Twins, looking to extend his string of solid outings. Since returning from the disabled list on August 3, the lefthander is 5-0 with a 1.45 ERA in seven starts.

In his last start, a 10-2 victory for Minnesota over the Detroit Tigers, the 24-year-old allowed two runs on a pair of solo home runs in seven innings, striking out nine.

The Royals counter with Brandon Duckworth (2-1, 6.60). The righthander will be making his fourth start since being recalled from Class AAA Omaha. Duckworth allowed five runs in four innings in his last start, a 9-3 defeat at the hands of the Cleveland Indians.