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 experien.