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The Arizona Diamondbacks hope Brandon Webb is able to put behind his worst outing of the season.
The staff ace looks to bounce back while trying to help the Diamondbacks avoid being swept by the surging Minnesota Twins and a former teammate in their series finale Sunday afternoon at the Metrodome.
Oddsmakers from Sportsbook.com have made Arizona -144 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 8.5 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 67% of bets for this game have been placed on Minnesota +134 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
Webb (11-3, 3.27 ERA) allowed seven runs and nine hits in 3 1-3 innings of a 15-1 loss at Oakland on Tuesday. It was his shortest outing since going two innings at St. Louis on Sept. 17, 2004 and dropped the 2006 Cy Young Award winner to 2-3 since winning his first nine starts.
"The velocity was back, the stuff was there. It was just one of those nights when you have that good of stuff (that) something like that shouldn’t happen," Arizona Chris Snyder told the team’s official Web site.
Webb’s 11 wins are tied with Joe Saunders of the Los Angeles Angels for the major league lead.
The NL West-leading Diamondbacks (39-36) hope for a better performance from Webb on Sunday as they look to cool off Minnesota (39-36). The Twins have won five in a row after beating Arizona 6-1 on Saturday to move within 2 1/2 games of first-place Chicago in the AL Central.
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The right-hander lost his only previous start versus the Twins, allowing all the runs in six innings of a 3-1 loss at Minnesota on June 13, 2003.
Minnesota used a six-run seventh to break things open while three pitchers allowed four hits to the Diamondbacks, who lost for the fifth time in seven contests. The Twins, meanwhile, are 8-2 since losing six in a row.
Brian Buscher’s two-run double highlighted the seventh. Michael Cuddyer had two hits and Justin Morneau extended his hitting streak to 10 games while driving in a run Saturday.
Morneau is batting .357 (15-for-42) with 14 RBIs during his streak.
The Twins have outscored their opponents 35-9 in their last five contests, while their rotation is 5-0 with a 1.85 ERA during that span.
"We’re putting some runs up on the board, and the big thing is our pitchers are giving us a chance,” catcher Joe Mauer said. "Hopefully we can continue to do that on both ends.”
Former Diamondback Livan Hernandez (7-4, 5.51) started Minnesota’s recent run by allowing a run and five hits in seven innings of a 2-1 win over Washington on Tuesday.
"That is the way I’ve got to pitch,” said Hernandez, who was 0-3 with a 9.38 ERA in his previous six starts. "I work every day and try to get better and better.”
The right-hander, who went 15-16 with a 4.64 ERA for Arizona from part of 2006 and all of 2007, is 9-6 with a 3.67 ERA versus the Diamondbacks.
Hernandez will face an Arizona lineup which could be without third baseman Mark Reynolds, the team leader with 16 home runs who left Saturday’s game in seventh after twisting his right ankle in the batter’s box.
Stephen Drew had two hits and Chad Tracy drove in the lone run for the Diamondbacks, who have scored more than three runs just once in their last eight games.
"When you’re not scoring runs you’re not putting pressure on the other team," Arizona manager Bob Melvin said.
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