Twins-Indians Preview

If the Minnesota Twins hope to mount a late charge at the AL Central title, they may need to keep relying on their resurgent starting rotation.

That plan would prominently involve Nick Blackburn, who's hoping to build on his best outing in months as the visiting Twins try to capture the decisive game of their series with the Cleveland Indians.

With Glen Perkins and Francisco Liriano dealing with injuries, not everything has gone according to plan with Minnesota's pitching this year. Between July 3 and Aug. 17, with the Twins going 15-23, the team's starters had a 6.52 ERA.

Since then, however, Minnesota (68-67) is 12-5, with its starting pitchers boasting a 3.78 ERA. The club used six strong innings from Scott Baker to beat Cleveland 4-1 on Saturday and continued chasing first-place Detroit in the division.

The run of good pitching has been especially key for the Twins with their biggest bats struggling. Justin Morneau is hitless in his last four games and batting .167 in his last 29 contests, while Joe Mauer has been held to three RBIs in his last 16 games.

"It's going to be an uphill battle to catch the Tigers, but we're up for it," infielder Nick Punto told the Twins' official Web site.

Minnesota will hope for a second straight quality outing from Blackburn, who had been 0-5 with an 8.22 ERA in his first eight starts following the All-Star break.

He may have turned things around after a strong effort Monday, when Blackburn (9-9, 4.16 ERA) struck out seven -- matching a career high -- and walked none in seven strong innings during a 4-1 win over the White Sox.

"He was pitching. He wasn't trying to throw too hard or anything like that," Mauer said. "Everything was nice and easy."

Blackburn is 4-2 with a 2.85 career ERA against the Indians, but he lost to them twice last month, lasting 2 1/3 innings and allowing six runs in a 7-4 defeat on Aug. 16. Asdrubal Cabrera is 4 for 7 with three doubles against Blackburn this year.

The Indians will counter with David Huff (8-7, 6.57). With the club trying to limit his innings, Huff has not pitched since Aug. 26, when he pitched six strong innings in a 4-2 win at Kansas City.

The rookie left-hander has struggled lately at home, however, losing three straight starts at Progressive Field while posting a 10.38 ERA. The ugliest of the outings came in a 10-1 loss to the Twins on Aug. 4, when Huff gave up seven runs and 11 hits in 4 2/3 innings.

Huff rebounded with a win at the Metrodome on Aug. 15, allowing two runs in five innings of a 7-3 win. The Indians are 7-7 against Minnesota.

Cleveland (59-76) has lost five of six, and the club learned this week that it will play the rest of the season without star outfielder Grady Sizemore. The Indians managed four hits in Saturday's game, including Andy Marte's fifth home run in his last 11 games.