The Cincinnati Reds will go for a three-game sweep when they face the Minnesota Twins on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Cincinnati (73-77) is coming off a decisive 11-1 win over the Twins on Saturday night, which followed an 8-4 victory in the series opener on Friday. The Reds have won nine of their last 13 games overall.
Meanwhile, Minnesota (78-70) maintains a 2 1/2-game lead over the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners for the final wild-card playoff spot in the American League. The Twins have lost two in a row and six of their last eight.
Reds manager David Bell praised his team after its 15-hit performance. He is hoping for another strong game at the plate as Cincinnati wraps up its interleague series.
“It’s nice when you get opportunities and you’re able to find some holes,” Bell said. “Our guys are just continuing to play hard every single inning. When you can get something to show for it and guys had some big nights … it was nice to see.”
The mood is different for Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, who is trying to avoid a late-season collapse while attempting to prepare his team for a possible playoff run.
“That was a tough game to watch, play in, manage, coach — the whole thing,” Baldelli said. “After the halfway point, you really just have to find a way to get through the game in the easiest way possible.
“We have to find the right mix of what we’re looking for. We have a lot of different players, we have a lot of different players with different levels of experience both in the rotation and the bullpen and the clubhouse. You’re never going to win playing tight all the time. You have to play loose. You have to play relaxed.”
Reds right-hander Rhett Lowder (1-1, 0.59 ERA) will try to finish the sweep. The rookie out of Wake Forest has struck out 12 in 15 1/3 innings in his first three career starts.
This will be Lowder’s first career matchup against the Twins. He is coming off his first career win in a start Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals, whom he stymied with five scoreless innings. The Reds won 3-0.
The Twins will counter on Sunday with right-hander David Festa (2-6, 5.08 ERA), who is scheduled to make his 11th start of his rookie campaign. The 24-year-old has lost his last four decisions, including his most recent outing Monday in which he gave up four runs in four innings in a 6-2 loss to the Los Angeles Angels.
Baldelli said he did not want to see his players press, even as the playoffs draw closer.
“There’s only one way to play this game,” Baldelli said. “You can play with urgency and play relaxed and play loose. That’s where we have to be. It doesn’t feel like we’re doing that. We’ve been pressing on the offensive side of the ball. We know that.
“You just have to keep going. You cannot look backwards — you have to look forwards, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
