Brian Duensing takes the mound tonight trying to extend the Minnesota Twins season. The Twins are down 0-2 in their best-of-5 first-round series to the New York Yankees.

Minnesota Twins pitcher Brian Duensing. Associated Press photo

At the very least, I’m sure Twins fans wouldn’t mind seeing the unreal 11-game postseason skid come to an end.

I’m left thinking how even if the Twins win tonight at Yankee Stadium, what are their chances tomorrow with No. 4 starter Nick Blackburn going against Yankees ace CC Sabathia?

I guess that’s the benefit of going with a three-man rotation in the playoffs. Pitch Carl Pavano in Game 1 and on short rest in Game 4, and have Francisco Liriano pitch Game 2 and be on full rest in Game 5. The rationale for flipping Pavano and Liriano is that Pavano is probably better suited to pitch on short rest.

I was out of town for about four days last week and didn’t get around to making my weekly NFL picks. So the record is 8-7 heading into Week 5.

• Lions by 3 over Rams. Lions
• Bears by 3 over Panthers. Bears
• Falcons by 3 over Browns. Falcons
• Saints by 7 1/2 over Cardinals. Saints
• Chargers by 5 over Raiders. Chargers