Twins hope Cubs struggles against lefthanders continue against Liriano

The Twins already have clinched their fourth consecutive series victory, but after starting the season as poorly as they did, they know they can't be content with that.

They have a chance to sweep a reeling Cubs team today. Yes, Chicago will have its best pitcher on the mound, in Ryan Dempster, but the Cubs are 2-13 against lefthanded starters this year, and the Twins have Francisco Liriano coming off his best two starts of the season.

Update: The Twins currently have four starting pitchers on the roster, but Liam Hendriks is the strong favorite to get the promotion to make next Saturday's start against Milwaukee. Hendriks tossed 8 2/3 scoreless innings for Class AAA Rochester, and that's after tossing seven scoreless innings in his previous start.

Manager Ron Gardenhire, while noting how well Hendriks is pitching, said the decision hasn't been made, adding that Jeff Manship could get stretched out to make Saturday's start. But Cole De Vries needs to spend at least 10 days in the minors, unless there's another injury.

CUBS (19-40)

1. Reed Johnson, LF
2. Starlin Castro, SS
3. David DeJesus, RF
4. Alfonso Soriano, DH
5. Jeff Baker, 1B
6. Joe Mather, CF
7. Darwin Barney, 2B
8. Ian Stewart, 3B
9. Koyie Hill, C

Starting pitcher: RH Ryan Dempster (1-3, 2.59 ERA)

TWINS (24-34)

1. Denard Span, CF
2. Ben Revere, RF
3. Joe Mauer, DH
4. Josh Willingham, LF
5. Justin Morneau, 1B
6. Trevor Plouffe, 3B
7. Brian Dozier, SS
8. Drew Butera, C
9. Jamey Carroll, 2B

Starting pitcher: LH Francisco Liriano (1-6, 6.46 ERA)

Target Field. First pitch: 1:10 p.m. TV: FSN. Twins Radio Network

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