The Detroit Tigers (25-19) look to continue their winning ways as they face the Minnesota Twins (18-25) as they open their weekend series at Comerica Park on Thursday night. The game will begin at 7:08 p.m. ET and will air live on Fox Detroit, MLB.com with a paid subscription and for free here.

Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera is coming off a Triple Crown season in which he won the AL MVP award. He is proving that his historic offensive season was no fluke.

Cabrera looks to extend his hitting streak while helping Detroit deal the visiting Minnesota Twins a ninth consecutive defeat Thursday night. The slugger has started 2013 with a major league leading .387 batting average and is atop the AL with 52 RBIs and ranks second in the league with 13 homers.

Cabrera went 2 for 4 in Wednesday's 11-7 win over Cleveland to help the Tigers sweep the two-game set, and he's hitting .469 during an eight-game hitting streak. He's hit five homers - including three in an 11-8 loss to Texas on Sunday - and driven in 10 runs over his last three contests.

Cabrera's 26 homers against Minnesota are his second-most versus any team, and he's also hitting .323 lifetime against them. That may not bode well for a Minnesota team that hasn't gotten much help from its pitching staff during its slide.

The Twins fell 8-3 at Atlanta on Wednesday, as Vance Worley gave up eight runs in 3 2/3 innings. Minnesota starters have a 8.41 ERA and have lasted more than 4 1/3 innings only twice during the skid. The rotation's 5.69 ERA on the season is second-worst to only Houston (5.88).

Scott Diamond (3-4) looks to end Minnesota's recent pitching struggles as he gets the nod to start on Thursday. He currently holds a 4.99 ERA and is coming off a 4.1 inning performance in which he allowed six earned runs in a losing effort to Boston.

Rick Porcello (2-2) will oppose Diamond looking to build off a couple of solid efforts. He is coming off a 5.2 inning performance in which he allowed just one run and earned a win against Texas.