THREE-GAME SERIES AT TARGET FIELD
Monday, 7:10 p.m. • FSN, 1500-AM
LHP Francisco Liriano (0-4, 9.97 ERA) vs. RHP Jered Weaver (4-0, 1.61)
Tuesday, 7:10 p.m. • FSN, 1500-AM
LHP Scott Diamond (0-0, --) vs. RHP Dan Haren (1-2, 3.43)
Wednesday, 7:10 p.m. • FSN, 1500-AM
RHP Carl Pavano (2-2, 4.62) vs. RHP Ervin Santana (0-6, 5.59)
TWINS UPDATE
Diamond will replace struggling righthander Liam Hendriks in the rotation. Last season, Diamond was 1-5 with a 5.08 ERA in seven starts with the Twins. ... Eventually, the Twins would like to revert back to a 12-man pitching staff, but they need to feel more comfortable about the rotation first. "I think it has worked out well," assistant General Manager Rob Antony said. "Nobody's cooked in the bullpen. Nobody's been overused. We have probably utilized the roster the right way with 13 pitchers, the way things have gone for us, but that's not ideally the way you want to go through a season." ... Brian Dozier will be the Twins' 11th starting shortstop since Jason Bartlett was traded following the 2007 season.
ANGELS UPDATE
Eventually, Albert Pujols is going to hit. But it's still strange to see his name next to a .194 batting average. On a 2-for-27 skid, the $240 million man was given Saturday off, then came back Sunday with his long-awaited first home run of the season. ... According to STATS Inc., Santana is the first pitcher since 1974 to have started five consecutive games in which his team was shut out ... The Twins could get a look at new Angels reliever Ernesto Frieri, who was acquired from San Diego on Thursday. Frieri grew up working at his mother's tamale stand in Colombia and says his arm is strong from grinding corn. ... It's still the first week of May, but this is the Angels' third and final series against the Twins.
