• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Royals-Twins Preview

May 2, 2009 - 4:47 AM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Kansas City (12-10) at Minnesota (11-11), 7:10 p.m. EDT

After getting through the first month of the season without their best hitter, the Minnesota Twins have to be happy now that Joe Mauer is back.

Mauer will try to help the Twins to their season-high fourth straight win Saturday night when they continue a weekend series against the Kansas City Royals.

In a seemingly wide-open AL Central race, Minnesota (12-11) did not have Mauer for all of April due to inflammation in a joint in his lower back. No team in the division was able to build any kind of a gap on the Twins, who split 22 games without the All-Star catcher before welcoming him back Friday.

He homered in his first at-bat, and finished 2-for-3 with three runs scored in the 7-5 win. The two-time batting champion got a standing ovation after his first-inning homer off Sidney Ponson.

"I was a little nervous. It was kind of like an opening day," Mauer said.

Mauer had managed only a .202 batting average in his previous 27 games against the Royals before breaking out in his season debut.

"We didn't make it tough enough on him," Royals manager Trey Hillman said.

Mauer has a double in 10 career at-bats versus Kansas City's Brian Bannister (2-0, 0.69 ERA), who has pitched very well since being called up from the minors. Bannister was brought up after Doug Waechter was placed on the disabled list on April 21, and has allowed one run and five hits over 13 innings.

The right-hander beat Toronto 7-1 on Monday by giving up one run and one hit over seven innings. He overcame six walks in wet conditions.

"The way the ball was going in the zone, I didn't know if it was going to cut or back up or what it was going to do because it was slipping quite often," Bannister said. "The approach was to get in the zone and see what happens."

Bannister is 3-1 with a 3.40 ERA in six career outings versus the Twins.

While he's enjoyed success versus Mauer, Bannister has allowed Justin Morneau to bat .389 (7-for-18) against him. Morneau also homered and went 2-for-3 on Friday to continue his surge at home.

The slugging first baseman is batting .392 (20-for-51) with three homers and 12 RBIs in his last 11 games at the Metrodome.

Kansas City closer Joakim Soria was available Friday, but did not pitch after an eight-day break to rest a sore right shoulder. Soria was 5-for-5 in save chances before his time off.

The Royals (12-11) will face left-hander Glen Perkins (1-2, 2.48), who gave up four runs over five innings Sunday in a 4-2 loss at Cleveland.

This will be Perkins' second career start against Kansas City. He gave up one run over five innings in a 4-2 loss on Sept. 27.