Twins to start Gee and Melville in doubleheader on Monday in Chicago

The Twins will use long man Dillon Gee on Monday as one of the starters in the doubleheader against the White Sox.

The other starter? Righthander Tim Melville.

Melville will be called up from Class AAA Rochester, where he is 4-3 with a 2.70 ERA in 11 games, 10 of them starts. Melville is well traveled, having pitched in Mexico during the winter and then for Long Island in the Independent Leagues before being signed by the Twins.

In doing so, the Twins decided not to call up lethander Stephen Gosalves, their top pitching prospect, to make the start. Gonsalves has made just two starts for Rochester since being promoted from Class AA Chattanooga.

Melville, 27, is a former fourth round pick of the Royals who debuted for the Reds in 2016, giving up 11 runs in nine innings over three appearances.

The Twins have not yet determined if Melville will be the 26th man that day or will replace someone on the 25-man roster. The Twins and White Sox, thanks to Monday's double dip, will play five games in four days.

The crafty Zack Greinke is back to face his old foe in the Twins. This will be Greinke's first game against Minnesota since April 30, 2014 when he gave up an unearned run over six innings as the Dodgers won 6-4. Brian Dozier, Joe Mauer and Eduardo Escobar were in the starting lineup that day. Sam Fuld was in center field. wow. Kyle Gibson took the loss.

In 23 career appearances (19 starts), Greinke is 5-8 with a 4.50 ERA against the Twins. He's 1-3, 4.76 at Target Field. We know what Greinke does. He can think one step ahead of hitters, baffle them with slow breaking balls then rear back and throw 94 mph. He can be crafty, with outbursts of power.

"He seems to invent pitches out there sometimes," Joe Mauer said.

This is a big game for the Twins, coming off of last night's power display against the D-Backs. A good showing against Greinke not only allows them to think sweep on Sunday, they hold on to the second wild card spot.

It also would be a win against a quality opponent following their poor series against Cleveland. The mark of a good team is the ability to bounce back.

Speaking of bouncing back, that's what Jose Berrios needs to do after giving up five first-inning runs in each of his last two starts. The Twins did come back in one, beating the Rangers 6-5 at Target Field. And they almost did it again against Detroit, only to get walked off by Justin Upton.

But Berrios needs a clean first inning tonight to avoid giving Greinke an early lead to work with.

"I think when I have been out there I think my mind is right but I feel like I have been too passive," Berrios said. "I've noticed that. As a competitor, that is something you do not want to do. It's happens. It's baseball. Sometimes you are going to have bad starts. But I have noticed."

Will check back later with any updates. It's Twins Hall of Fame night here, as Michael Cuddyer will be inducted before the game. In fact, the first pitch is scheduled to be thrown around 6:40 p.m. because of the ceremony. So plan accordingly.

D-Backs

David Peralta, LF
A.J. Pollock, CF
Jake Lamb, 3B
Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
J.D. Martinez, RF
Daniel Descalzo, 2B
Brandon Drury, DH
Ketel Marte, SS
Jeff Mathis, C

Zack Greinke, RHP

Twins

Brian Dozier, 2B
Max Kepler, RF
Joe Mauer, 1B
Miguel Sano, DH
Eddie Rosario, LF
Eduardo Escobar, 3B
Byron Buxton, CF
Jorge Polanco, SS
Jason Castro, C

Jose Berrios, RHP