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(Sports Network) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will try to keep up their strong pitching in the early going as the club goes for a third consecutive victory over the Minnesota Twins in this afternoon's finale of a season- opening four-game set from the Metrodome.

After being edged by the Twins, 3-2, on Opening Day, the Angels got eight outstanding innings out of starter Jon Garland in Tuesday's 9-1 triumph over Minnesota and an even sharper outing from Joe Saunders in last night's meeting.

Saunders limited the Twins to four hits and a walk through eight scoreless frames as Los Angeles pulled out a 1-0 win on Wednesday. The game's only run came in the top of the seventh inning, when Howie Kendrick led off with a single and eventually scored on a wild pitch from Minnesota starter Nick Blackburn.

Saunders needed just 80 pitches to get through the first eight innings before turning the game over to Francisco Rodriguez. The standout closer then completed the shutout to notch his first save of 2008.

Blackburn was also terrific in his first major league start, as the 26-year- old right-hander yielded just the one run on five hits and struck out six over seven innings in a hard-luck defeat.

The Twins will be sending another young hurler out to the mound this afternoon in Kevin Slowey, who went 4-1 with a 4.72 earned run average in his first taste of the majors last season.

Slowey, a second-round draft choice by Minnesota in 2005, exhibited good control in his 14-game (11 starts) audition in the bigs, as he issued just 11 walks in 66 2/3 innings of work. The 23-year-old also performed well when recalled in September, recording a 3.34 ERA in four starts and a pair of relief appearances.

His first major league win came against the Angels on June 6 of last year. Slowey worked five innings in that game and surrendered five runs (four earned) on 10 hits, but received plenty of offensive support in an 8-5 Twins' victory.

Slowey will be opposed by the talented but enigmatic Ervin Santana, who has been given an opportunity to atone for a underachieving 2007 campaign.

Santana posted an impressive 16-8 record with a 4.28 ERA in 33 starts for the Angels in 2006, his second season in the majors, but failed to match those strong numbers last year. The native Dominican went just 7-14 with a 5.26 ERA and was banished to the minors for a month-long stretch at one point.

The 25-year-old wasn't even guaranteed a spot in the Angels rotation at the start of spring training, but injuries to John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar assured Santana of a chance to begin the season as a starter.

Santana was especially bad on the road last year, as his 1-10 record and 8.38 ERA in 16 appearances (14 starts) will attest. For his career, the right- hander has amassed a lackluster 10-21 record and a 7.14 ERA away from home, compared to a 25-9 ledger and 3.14 lifetime ERA at Angel Stadium.

In three previous starts against Minnesota, Santana is 1-1 with a 3.57 ERA.

The Angels have now won six of their last seven encounters with the Twins. Minnesota has managed a mere 12 runs during that stretch and has not homered in any of those seven contests.