Saturday, April 30, 2005

Twins win again

Two things stick out to me when it comes to tonight's victory: Brad Radke's smooth, quality pitching performance and Justin Morneau's hitting heroics. After starting the year 1-3 and being more inconsistent than expected, Radke finally settled down and pitched the way we've expected him to pitch all along. He threw seven and a half innings, giving up seven hits and one earned run while striking out five and walking none. That's the kind of quality pitching I expect from a veteran like Radke. I hope this is a sign of things to come, as he did it against the Angels, a true contender far from the mediocre Detroit or Kansas City offenses.

Otherwise, Justin Morneau hit his second home-run and his first triple of the year, while going 2 for 4 with two RBIs. He continues to be a consistent hitter and run producer since returning to the lineup, now hitting an incredible .439. He's the most exciting player the Twins have right now to watch.

In other news:

* Torii Hunter stole his MLB-leading 11th base tonight, continuing what looks like to be a break out season if he just start hitting more consistently

* Nick Punto and Joe Mauer both went 2 for 3, each driving in a run. Its nice to see Punto get some playing time, as he's actually hitting a respectable .268

* My peer reminder readers that Michael Cuddyer's game last night should not cause people to jump the gun. He seems to be right, as Cuddyer continued his anemic hitting, going 0 for 4 while leaving two runners on. I'd like to see Cuddyer break out as much as anyone else and I understand he was given the job, but how much patience can you show?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

A year and change later, Torii Hunter continues to be overrated in the field, and helpless at the plate. Why he wasn't traded after the '05 season when they could still get SOMEthing for him is beyond me. The sack o' poo.