Royals: Lough (RF), Escobar (SS), Gordon (LF), Butler (DH), Perez (C), Moustakas (3B), Cain (CF), Hosmer (1B), Giavotella (2B)
Twins: Span (CF), Revere (RF), Willingham (DH), Morneau (1B), Plouffe (3B), Mastroianni (LF), Escobar (2B), Butera (C), Florimon (SS)
Three starts ago we saw Hendriks at his best. He threw a complete game, allowing just a run, and he was everything the Twins could have wanted him to be. It didn't signal the turning of a corner, and honestly it didn't really seem to signal much of anything other than a blip on the radar. While the Twins are likely to be starved for starting pitchers come February and while it's likely that Hendriks will be in the running for one of those five coveted rotation spots, there's been little to be happy about with Hendriks' performance this season. He's still just 23 and seems to have little left to prove in Triple-A, but Minnesota needs him to be more than a Quadruple-A arm.
This will be the fifth time the Twins have seen Mendoza this season. He's already posted 24.1 innings against the hometown nine, allowing just eight earned runs, striking our 14 and walking four. Even if the bottom half of the Minnesota lineup isn't as familiar with him, the top half is. There needs to be some runs scored tonight.