Another Sweep in Mo-Town

Well, as much as I'd love to write something positive about the Twins, there really isn't anything like that to say. Once again, the Twins went into Detroit and got swept convincingly. Sure, they actually scored more than one run this time, but in the end, it didn't mean much. When just a few measly runs would have won the game for Johan on Wednesday, they got nothing. Yesterday, with Brad Radke continuing his mediocrity, the offense didn't provide much and the defense crumbled behind him. And Tuesday, with the no- banished Kyle Lohse on the mound continuing to pitch worse than Jose Lima, the Twins couldn't put up much of a fight either.

This is not to say that Radke was great, either. He allowed 10 hits and walked three and that kind of lack of control is not very "Radke-esque." The hitters once again couldn't come up with much. A rally in the ninth was stunted when Torii Hunter flew out to end the game. Hunter went 0-for-3 over the course of the game with runners on, stranding a total of five and killing a separate rally in the third by grounding into a double-play. Sure, he walked and had a hit, but his struggles with men on certainly didn't help. Same goes for Justin Morneau and his three strikeouts.

Only Mike Redmond really counts as an offensive "star" for the day. Rondell White did have 2 RBIs, but one was a bases loaded walk (have to imagine that was more the pitcher's doing) and the other a sac fly. Redmond, on the other hand, went 3-for-5 with an RBI in the ninth inning to set things up for the Torii flyout.

Basically, it was all bad news for the Twins, who are now 17-24 and 9 1/2 games behind the first-place Tigers.

The only good news comes from other fronts. Matt Garza threw a great game in his Double-A debut, striking out 13 in 7 2/3 innings. There will be more on that later this weekend. And, much to my happiness, we may get something for Kyle Lohse. According to the Star Trib, the Mets have shown some interest in Kyle and a trade may occur within the next few days, as it appears Lohse has no interest in reporting to Triple-A. We will never have to see Lohse pitch in a Twins uniform again, and I, for one, am not too broken up about that.