Twins seek series victory vs. slumping Pirates

The Minnesota Twins will try to make it three series victories in a row when they take on the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis.

The Twins are coming off a 2-1 win over the Pirates in the series opener Friday night. They won two of three games against the Chicago Cubs in their previous series, and they won two of three games against the Tampa Bay Rays in the series before that.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli praised his players for their recent performances. He said the team's pitching, defense and baserunning helped it win close games such as the one Friday, when Minnesota sneaked past Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates for a one-run win.

All of the Twins' offense came in the fourth inning thanks to an infield single by Byron Buxton and a two-run blast by Trevor Larnach.

"When you get some opportunities, you really have to take advantage," Baldelli said. "Beating out the double-play ball is so (Buxton). That's the type of stuff that he does that almost nobody else in baseball can do. He finds a way to do that."

Pirates right-hander Mike Burrows (1-2, 3.63 ERA) will try to find a way to spoil the Twins' recent hot stretch. Burrows is coming off a sharp outing against the Seattle Mariners, but he drew a no-decision after limiting Seattle to three hits in five scoreless innings last Saturday.

This will be Burrows' first career start against the Twins. He is 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA in four career interleague games, including three starts.

The Twins have not announced a starting pitcher for Saturday.

Minnesota likely will be without veteran shortstop Carlos Correa, who sustained a mild right ankle sprain on Friday. Correa was injured while covering second base as Pirates outfielder Tommy Pham slid hard into his ankle.

Correa was walking without support after the game and said he felt OK. The Twins could play it safe by resting him this weekend ahead of the All-Star break.

The Pirates have lost seven games in a row after winning their previous six.

Skenes is trying to find reasons for optimism in what has been a turbulent season for the team. Skenes said he is feeling much better about his fastball as the All-Star break approaches.

"Just watching my progression through the season -- as I look at March and April and into May, fastball command wasn't outstanding," Skenes said. "Effectively wild, almost.

"But the last few starts I've been really happy with it, just being able to pick lanes and get the ball where I want it to go. That makes pitching a lot easier when you have fastball command."

Pittsburgh's offense has done little to support Skenes and his teammates in the starting rotation. Including Friday's one-run performance, Pittsburgh has scored a total of 10 runs during its seven-game losing streak.

Meanwhile, the Twins have scored 30 runs in their past seven games. They have climbed to two games below .500, and they have a chance to reach the .500 mark with a sweep this weekend.

--Field Level Media