Twins at Royals
The Minnesota Twins own a major league-leading 26 road wins and can clinch another series win away from home with a victory in the finale of a four-game set at Kansas City on Sunday. After dropping the opener of the series, the Twins have bounced back with a pair of tight wins, rallying to take Saturday's matchup 5-3 in 10 innings.
C.J. Cron homered in the eighth and hit the go-ahead RBI single in the 10th as Minnesota improved to 6-2 against the Royals. The first-place Twins are also 18-8 against division opponents and look to improve upon that mark behind big right-hander Michael Pineda on Sunday. Kansas City counters with veteran Homer Bailey, who has posted back-to-back scoreless outings. Hunter Dozier drove in a pair of runs for the Royals on Saturday as they fell to 2-5 in extra-inning affairs.
TV: 2:15 p.m. ET, FS North (Minnesota), FS Kansas City
PITCHING MATCHUP: Twins RH Michael Pineda (4-3, 4.76 ERA) vs. Royals RH Homer Bailey (6-6, 4.82)
Pineda has allowed three earned runs or fewer in eight straight starts, including two in a row in which he's yielded just one. The 30-year-old has not surrendered a home run in each of his last four outings after serving up a total of eight over his previous four. Left fielder Alex Gordon is just 4-for-22 with eight strikeouts against Pineda, who is 5-5 with a 3.84 ERA in 10 career starts versus Kansas City.
Bailey struggled mightily in the second half of May and opened June with a clunker at Texas, but he is 2-0 with a 1.37 ERA over his last three starts. He struck out six and yielded five hits in a season-high 7 2/3 innings of a 9-0 win at Seattle on Tuesday. The 33-year-old opened his season with five innings of three-run ball against the Twins and has a 6.10 ERA in two career matchups.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Twins activated RHP Blake Parker from the family medical emergency list and optioned RHP Kohl Stewart to Triple-A Rochester.
2. Cron is 12-for-31 with two homers during a seven-game hitting streak.
3. Gordon has at least one RBI in four straight games.