The LA Dodgers and Minnesota Twins are finishing their interleague series on the MLB schedule on Thursday and the matchup comes from Target Field for a day-night doubleheader and the first game starts at 1:10 pm ET and will be streaming from the MLB.com website and has Dan Haren on the mound against Mike Pelfrey and the teams will be looking to win the series before a return to the west coast for the Dodgers.
The Twins come into the game playing well this season, as they are now 12-12 and in the mix in the AL Central after being one of the worst teams in baseball last year, while the Dodgers are near the top of the NL west at 15-12. The Dodgers won the game on Wednesday after dealing with a game that was washed out and now they will play two on Thursday and that could give both teams a huge boost as they try to get their footing on the first day of May on the schedule.
The Dodgers have been playing very well on the road this season and they have now won five games in a row against AL teams and they could continue that with the two games on Thursday. The Twins have been the opposite, as they have lost their last five games against the NL and Haren comes in pitching much better than Pelfrey, as he is 3-0 with a 2.03 ERA and Pelfrey is 0-2 with an Era over seven early in the season.
The Dodgers and Twins have both been off to solid starts this season and it is a much bigger deal for Minnesota, as they finished at the bottom of the central last season, while LA won their division after an amazing 50-game run in the second half. The Dodgers are in control after being terrible on the road in interleague games over the past few years and they had won only two of 12 last season before winning four in a row. The team is averaging over eight runs during this latest streak and they have won five on the road and now the team comes in after Zack Greinke got the win in the game on Wednesday.
Haren is on the mound after allowing three runs in six innings against the Phillies last week and he has pitched well this season and now he is matching up with Pelfrey, who hasn't won since last season. The Dodgers come into the game 16th in runs scored in the early part of the season and they are 18th in batting average and ninth in slugging percentage. The pitching has been very good and the team is ranked in the top 10 in all major categories, as they are fifth in ERA, ninth in quality starts, ninth in BAA and eighth overall in WHIP.
