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Sports

Twins hope to slow down Blue Jays' Donaldson

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Twins will try to figure out a solution for their Josh Donaldson problem as Minnesota hosts the Toronto Blue Jays for the second bout of a three-game set on Saturday.

Donaldson is one of the hottest hitters in baseball as he recorded his fourth consecutive game with a home run in Friday's 6-4 series opening win. The Toronto third baseman now has 14 home runs and 38 RBI to go along with a team- leading .316 batting average on the season.

With another home run on Saturday, Donaldson would tie teammate Jose Bautista's five-game streak and come within a game of Jose Cruz Jr.'s club record.

Chris Colabello also played a big role for the Blue Jays in their win on Friday, as he notched a go-ahead, two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning to lift the visitors to the decision. The 31-year old has hit safely in his last nine games, batting .400 with three homers, three doubles and six RBI over that span.

"He just keeps hitting and hitting and hitting," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "He's hitting the good pitching. You figure he has to cool off, but he hasn't really. And some clutch hits."

The Blue Jays received a complete game from starter Mark Buehrle, who recorded his 29th win over Minnesota. Right-hander Aaron Sanchez will take the hill on Saturday. The rookie right-hander allowed only two runs over 6 2/3 innings during his last start versus the Mariners.

Sanchez will go head-to-head with Minnesota's Kyle Gibson, who will be making his 10th start of the campaign. Gibson owns the lowest ERA on the club and allowed only four singles over eight innings last April in his only previous start versus Toronto.

"When you look at how their lineup stacks up, their ability to hit the ball over the fence, they can explode and put up big numbers," Twins manager Paul Molitor said before the beginning of the series. "It's just one of those things where you have to try to contain the best that you can and be confident that you can execute your pitches. These guys, they make outs, too, you know. It's not like they're doing it every at-bat and you just hope that the confidence level that our staff has continues."

Sanchez is allowing a league-worst 5.88 batters per nine innings. Minnesota's closer Glen Perkins has notched a save against every American League team except for Toronto.