Major League Baseball

Mets-Twins Preview

Published Aug. 18, 2013 11:17 p.m. ET

foxsports

The New York Mets are in the midst of another disappointing season, but they've experienced some success in interleague games.

While hoping to get another strong outing from Dillon Gee, the visiting Mets will try to earn another win over an AL opponent in Monday's makeup game against the Minnesota Twins.

The Mets (56-66), likely headed for a fifth straight losing season, suffered their fifth loss in seven games Sunday, 4-3 in San Diego.

Gonzalez Germen was charged his first career blown save after allowing the tying run in the eighth inning, and Pedro Feliciano gave up Will Venable's walk-off homer in the ninth.

"That's baseball. We could have gotten this one, but we lost," Feliciano told the team's official website. "We've just got to go out and be ready for tomorrow."

Gee (8-8, 3.79 ERA) will try to help his club bounce back and improve on its 9-4 record in interleague play. That mark includes two wins in Minnesota from April 12-13.

The finale that Gee was scheduled to pitch was rained out, but New York would probably rather have the right-hander face the Twins now than back in April.

Gee started this season 0-3 with an 8.36 ERA but is 1-0 with a 1.74 ERA in his first three starts this month. He gave up two runs over six innings in his latest outing Wednesday at the Los Angeles Dodgers and left with a two-run lead the bullpen couldn't hold in a 5-4 loss in 12.

"Sometimes, things happen like that," Gee said. "We're playing hard. Things just didn't turn out the way we wanted."

In his first appearance against the Twins, Gee will face a team that's lost five of six and three in a row. Minnesota (54-68) had double-digit hits for the third time in five contests Sunday but went 2 for 18 with runners in scoring position in a 5-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox.

The Twins are 15 for 71 (.211) in those situations through seven of eight straight home games.

"It's not a different mentality with that or anything," second baseman Brian Dozier said. "You just have to bear down more and hopefully pitchers make mistakes in certain situations. It's something we've definitely got to get better at."

Kyle Gibson (2-3, 6.27) will try to help his team rebound while ending a five-game winless stretch. The right-hander gave up three runs over 5 1-3 innings Wednesday and did not get a decision in a 9-8 loss to Cleveland.

Daniel Murphy went 6 for 9 with two doubles and five RBIs in the two games against Minnesota in April. He's hitting just .221 in August, however.

The Mets can reach double-digit interleague wins Monday for just the second time since 2004. They won a franchise-best 13 games against the AL in 2010.