A win on Friday night against the Minnesota Twins would be a nice way to open a three-game set at the Metrodome, but it would be hard to fault Dustin Moseley if his thoughts were elsewhere.
After attending fellow pitcher Nick Adenhart's funeral services in Maryland on Thursday with manager Mike Scioscia, teammates and team officials, Moseley makes his third start of the season for the Los Angeles Angels and first of his career against Minnesota.Adenhart was killed, along with two friends, last Thursday after the Angels' 6-4 loss to Oakland as the car he was a passenger in was struck by a driver whom police say was drunk.
"To see someone lose their life at such a young age takes you out of that bowl you think you're in and you say, 'Tomorrow could be my last day and what kind of impact am I making?"' Moseley said following last Friday's 6-3 win over Boston. "Nick made a huge impact. I'm proud to know him. I'm sure God's proud to know him right now, too."
In his first start following the crash, Moseley (1-0, 3.86 ERA) allowed three runs and six hits in 5 2-3 innings in a 5-4 win over the Red Sox on Sunday.
The right-hander is 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA in three career relief appearances against Minnesota.
The Twins (4-7), meanwhile, need a solid start from Nick Blackburn (0-1, 5.73) after they lost for the fifth time in six games, 9-2 to Toronto on Thursday.
Minnesota is batting just .230 (47-for-204) during this stretch with 14 total runs.
"People jump off the bandwagon all the time and I'm sure we knocked a few people off the wagons tonight, but you can jump back on with us because we're going to keep playing," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.
Blackburn is 0-2 with a 3.09 ERA in two career starts against the Angels. In his last appearance versus Los Angeles, the right-hander gave up six runs and 10 hits in 4 2-3 innings of a 7-5 loss on Aug. 23
Blackburn, though, had a solid start in Sunday's 6-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox, allowing three earned runs and six hits over six innings.
In Thursday's 5-1 win over Seattle, Chone Figgins and Bobby Abreu each went 2-for-5 as the Angels (4-5) salvaged the finale of the three-game set. Mike Napoli's two-run single started a five-run fifth inning.
Figgins and Abreu are 4-for-6, and Napoli is 0-for-1 with a walk lifetime against Blackburn.
Vladimir Guerrero won't be available for the series opener after returning to Los Angeles with a strained pectoral muscle. He is scheduled to see the team orthopedist on Friday.
"I want to get back to playing right field," the 2004 AL MVP said through an interpreter. "The way I am swinging the bat has nothing to do with this. ... I just haven't gotten into the swing of things."
Guerrero is hitting just .250 with one home run and three RBIs.
Back from an injury-filled 2008 that limited him to 71 games, the Twins' Michael Cuddyer had two hits, including his first home run of the season, in Thursday's loss. He is 2-for-2 lifetime versus Moseley.
Justin Morneau has hit safely in five straight games and eight of nine. The Twins' first baseman, however, was hitless in 12 at-bats and struck out twice as Los Angeles won three of four in its last visit to Minnesota from March 31-April 3, 2008.
