The Twins Week Ahead - May 21

I am happy to report that the Twins' latest surge has put them ahead of the 1962 Mets, who took until their 51st game of the season to get win #14. At this point of the year, the Mets were in the midst of a 17-game losing streak, so that'll take some doing for the Twins to beat.

Last Week

• Jason Marquis sucked. Twice.
• The Twins thought they might send Ryan Doumit to the disabled list with a strained calf. Instead, they switched it up and DL'ed Nick Blackburn with battle fatigue and - no, I'm sorry, I mean "strained quad." That's totally the reason that Blackburn has been terrible.
• Somehow the Twins ran off four wins in a row, though I am looking at the standings, and I'm not sure they got credit for any of them, because - wow, they were really 8-23 at one point? Man, that's bad.

This Week's Schedule

It's another week of division play, as the Twins - after an off day - start out the week with three games in Chicago, before coming home for a weekend triple with Detroit.

The Sox have won four in a row, including a crosstown sweep at Wrigley, and have climbed back to the .500 mark. Surprisingly, they've done this while being terrible (7-12) at home; they haven't won a home series since the second week of the year. Keep an eye on: Adam Dunn. After being completely awful for all of 2011, he's back to his old ways: sure, he's struck out 62 times and is batting .247, but he's hit 14 homers and has a .390 OBP.

Next up is Detroit, who the Twins just beat twice in a row at Comerica Park. Over the weekend, the Tigers took two out of three at home from Pittsburgh, who after all these years, still has a baseball team. Keep an eye on: On Friday, the Twins are scheduled to get their first look at 22-year-old lefty Drew Smyly. He gave up four runs and didn't make it out of the fifth inning in his last start, allowing two home runs to Andrew McCutchen, but he still has a 2.89 ERA this year. Smyly, out of the University of Arkansas, was Detroit's Minor League Pitcher of the Year last year at High-A and AA.

The schedule:

• Monday: Off day.
• Tuesday: at Chicago, 7:10 pm. TV: FSN. Probables: P.J Walters vs. Gavin Floyd
  
• Wednesday: at Chicago, 7:10pm. TV: FSN. Probables: Scott Diamond vs. Chris Sale
  
• Thursday: at Chicago, 7:10pm. TV: FSN and MLB Network. Probables: Carl Pavano vs. Philip Humber
  
• Friday: vs Detroit, 7:10pm. TV: FSN. Probables: Jason Marquis vs. Drew Smyly
  
• Saturday: vs Detroit, 1:10pm. TV: FSN and MLB Network. Probables: Anthony Swarzak vs. Max Scherezer
  
• Sunday: vs Detroit, 1:10pm. TV: FSN. Probables: Walters vs. Rick Porcello