Seeking consistency, tumbling Twins take aim at A's

The Minnesota Twins' roller-coaster season took another sudden drop over the weekend, when they were swept in three games by the San Diego Padres.

The Twins will look to elevate again when they begin a three-game series against the Athletics on Monday night in West Sacramento, Calif.

Minnesota sits two games back of the final American League wild-card spot after losing 8-1 to San Diego on Sunday. The Twins were outscored 21-8 in the series.

"The (Padres) came in, and they beat us," Minnesota manager Derek Shelton said. "We've got to rebound after that because they beat us in all facets."

Luke Keaschall is hitting .356 (26-for-73) over his last 20 games for the Twins, who were swept by the Philadelphia Phillies and then swept the Atlanta Braves in consecutive three-game series before falling flat against San Diego.

"We just need to find some consistency," Twins right-hander Bailey Ober said. "We just need to lock it in, go out there and try to win the day. You can't worry about too far ahead, looking at the end of the year, standings and stuff like that."

Minnesota will continue a six-game trip with the series against the American League-worst Athletics, who took two of three games from the Houston Astros over the weekend.

Max Muncy slugged a tie-breaking home run in the seventh inning to help the Athletics rally from a six-run deficit for a 7-6 victory on Sunday.

"I think that was one of the better wins for this club in a long time," Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. "The start we had, we had some wins that were meaningful and impactful, but today was a great win for this group, especially just the way they fought."

The Athletics will send left-hander Jeffrey Springs (3-11, 6.02 ERA) to the mound in the series opener. He returned to the rotation on Wednesday in his first outing since landing on the injured list with right hip discomfort on Aug. 4.

Springs allowed two runs over 5 2/3 innings on Wednesday and received a no-decision in his team's 9-7 loss to the Kansas City Royals.

"A couple walks that he was upset with, but outside of that, I thought he managed the game great and gave us a chance to win," Kotsay said.

Springs has lost 11 consecutive decisions. He is 2-1 with a 3.54 ERA in five career games (three starts) vs. the Twins. He allowed five runs (four earned) over 1 1/3 innings in an 11-8 road loss to them on July 26.

Minnesota will counter with right-hander Zebby Matthews (7-8, 5.12 ERA), who allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings in a 4-1 victory against the Atlanta Braves last Tuesday.

Matthews has gone 3-0 with a 4.60 ERA in three outings covering 15 2/3 innings since being recalled from Triple-A St. Paul on Aug. 7.

"He has been lights out for us ever since he got called up," Twins designated hitter Josh Bell said. "He works his tail off, so it's definitely fun to watch and fun to play with."

Matthews is 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA in two career starts against the Athletics. He gave up two runs over six frames in a 2-0 home loss to them on July 24.

--Field Level Media