The Minnesota Twins will aim for their sixth victory in seven games on Tuesday when they visit the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the middle contest of a three-game series.
The Twins opened this set at Angel Stadium with a 4-3 win on Monday, as Clete Thomas went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBI for the visitors. Thomas also made an incredible leaping catch at the wall in the eighth inning to rob Chris Iannetta of a potential go-ahead home run.
With two on and two outs, Collin Cowgill singled home Howie Kendrick to pull the Angels within one. Iannetta then came on to pinch-hit for Hank Conger and smoked a line drive to deep left field. Thomas, though, timed his jump perfectly and snared the ball to end the frame.
"I had Iannetta's ball all the way," said Thomas. "I wasn't sure I had enough room, but I got it."
Doug Bernier added an RBI double and Aaron Hicks drove in a run for the Twins, who had a four-game winning streak halted in Sunday's loss to Cleveland.
Samuel Deduno (6-4) gave up two runs on four hits and five walks over seven innings to pick up the win. Glen Perkins stranded a pair in the ninth to notch his 24th save.
Mike Trout and Kendrick drove in one run apiece for the Halos, who have dropped two straight and five of seven to fall 11 games out of first place in the AL West.
Joe Blanton (2-13) was tagged for four runs on nine hits over 3 2/3 innings to absorb the loss.
"I felt like I threw a lot of good balls tonight," Blanton told his team's official website. "I made a couple mistakes that they hit and a lot of those borderline pitches tonight that weren't going my way, and that was the game."
The Angels hope the return of Tommy Hanson can get them back in the win column on Tuesday. L.A. will have Hanson on the mound for the first time in over a month after the right-hander spent time on the disabled list with a strained right forearm.
Hanson's last outing was against Seattle on June 20, when he was touched for seven runs and six hits over only two innings. He had won his previous two starts before that brief outing, but was scratched shortly before his next scheduled start on June 26.
The 26-year-old Hanson, who is 4-2 with a 5.10 ERA in nine starts this season, will make his first career appearance against the Twins on Tuesday.
The Twins will send Kyle Gibson to the hill on Tuesday as the rookie takes aim at his third career win in his fifth start.
Gibson earned the second victory of his brief career on July 14 against the New York Yankees, allowing three runs -- two earned -- in five innings of work. It was a marked improvement from his previous start against the Yankees, who clobbered Gibson for eight runs and 11 hits in a 9-5 loss on July 4.
The 25-year-old righty has never faced the Angels.
The Twins have won all three games against L.A. this season after the Angels claimed six of nine meetings in 2012. Minnesota was 0-3 in Anaheim last season and Monday's victory was the club's first win at Angel Stadium since Sept. 2, 2011.
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