The start of the third Twins vs. Chicago White Sox home series looked a little rough. I almost felt bad for all of the Twins fans that brought their old straw brooms out the Metrodome. Pitcher Scott Baker turned in his first poor start of the season when he gave up 6 runs in three innings, putting the Twins at a 6-1 deficit in the third. Not only were his pitches all over the place, he made a mental error by forgetting to cover first base on a routine ground ball. That play cost him two runs! I am sure Ron Gardenhire will have a long talk with our friend Scott Baker and we should look for much improvement on his next outing. Luckily for Baker, lady luck reared her pretty head at the HHH Metrodome yesterday afternoon and the Minnesota Twins came back to beat the White Sox, 7-6, when reliever David Aardsma threw four straight balls to Torii Hunter in the bottom of the ninth to walk in the winning run. Hunter said he can't remember drawing a game-winning walk since playing in high school.
While the Twins' bats scored the runs to get them back into the game, it was the impressive six innings of scoreless, hitless work by the bullpen that made it all possible. Jason Miller, Matt Guerrier, Pat Neshek and Joe Nathan gave up no hits and just three walks to the Sox for the remainder of the game. Nathan, who has now thrown 11 consecutive scoreless innings, was rightly credited with the win. The Twins make shift bullpen has definitely been firing on all cylinders and should take most of the credit for the Twins recent success.
With the win, the Twins move into third place in the American League Central and sit five games behind the Indians. Up next is a game in Oakland when the Twins take on the Athletics. Kevin Slowey will make his major league debut for the Twins as he takes on the Oakland A’s mediocre Joe Kennedy. Let’s hope Slowey starts off his career with a bang and the Twins can keep on their winning streak! Go Twins!
No comments:
Post a Comment