Kansas City (37-55) at Minnesota (42-48)

The Minnesota Twins are battling the injury bug, but they still keep piling up wins.
The surging Twins look to make it six consecutive victories over the AL-worst Kansas City Royals on Friday night when this Central division rivalry continues at Target Field.

After an injury-plagued first half ended with a 24-11 run, the Twins (42-48) continued their solid play coming out of the All-Star break with Thursday’s 8-4 victory over the Royals (37-55).
Trevor Plouffe(notes), playing his first game since June 1 following a stint at Triple-A Rochester, replaced designated hitter Jim Thome(notes) (left toe) in the lineup and hit a two-run homer. Delmon Young(notes), out the previous 14 games with a sprained right ankle, had three hits and an RBI to help Minnesota win for the 14th time in 17 home games.
Now six games out of first place after being 16 1/2 back on June 1, the Twins could benefit from continued production from Plouffe and Young as Denard Span(notes) (concussion), Justin Morneau(notes) (wrist), and Jason Kubel(notes) (left foot) remain on the disabled list.
“It’s a big mountain we put ourselves at the bottom of and we’re still working our way back up,” said manager Ron Gardenhire, whose team has won 12 of 15 at home in this matchup.
The Twins continue their season-high 12-game stretch at Target Field with Nick Blackburn(notes) (7-6, 4.24 ERA) on the mound. The right-hander is 1-1 with a 12.15 ERA in his last three starts, but he’s feeling better about his stuff after pitching four scoreless innings to cap off his last outing - an 8-5 road win over the Chicago White Sox on July 8.
“… I think once I settled in, everything was good,” Blackburn, who allowed five runs in the first inning, told the Twins’ official website. “I think I pitched better than I had been the last three or weeks.”
Back tightness limited Blackburn to five innings in a 7-2 victory in Kansas City on June 4. He allowed two runs and seven hits to pick up the win.
Right-hander Luke Hochevar(notes) (5-8, 5.46), who lost that matchup after giving up six runs and a season high-tying 11 hits, gets the ball Friday.
He is 1-1 with an 8.27 ERA in last four starts after going a season-low 3 2-3 innings in a 13-6 win over Detroit on July 9.
“… I need to figure it out and get back to helping the ballclub,” Hochevar told the Royals’ official website after walking three and surrendering six runs and nine hits.
Facing the Twins may not help Hochevar. He is 1-1 with a 6.57 ERA in two starts in this matchup in 2011 - both in Kansas City.
Twins infielder Alexi Casilla(notes), 8 for 14 with three doubles and two triples off Hochevar, is batting .414 (12 for 29) against Royals pitching in 2011 after extending his hitting streak to seven Thursday with his fourth consecutive two-hit game.
Joe Mauer(notes) is 35 for 67 (.522) with a homer and 19 RBIs during a 16-game hitting streak versus Kansas City. The three-time AL batting champ has nine hits - including two doubles and a triple - in 17 at-bats against Hochevar.
Royals center fielder Melky Cabrera(notes) is 20 for 43 (.465) with two homers and nine RBIs while hitting safely in 10 straight. He is 3 for 11 with a home run off Blackburn.