After Friday night's game, we wrote that for once, we just wanted to bask in a great Twins victory. Last night, however, was an entirely different story. The Twins were absolutely clobbered by the Indians in a most embarassing fashion. 11-0. Shut out by a rookie pitcher (Jeremy Sowers) whom they not only beat up last time they saw him (five earned runs, three home runs, eleven hits last Sunday), but also a pitcher who came in with a 1-3 record and a 7.15 ERA.
The Twins offense managed a pitiful four hits and one walk on the day. Jason Bartlett had one of those hits and the walk, with Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer, and Rondell White picking up the other hits. After a huge night offensively Friday, it seemed like they had used up everything they had.
The pitching of Scott Baker naturally wasn't too great. He struck out four in 5 1/3 innings, but also allowed six runs and nine hits. Kyle Lohse pitched 1 and 2/3 scoreless relief innings after nearly giving up a grand slam Friday night, perhaps helping his trade value a bit. Willie Eyre proved he doesn't deserve to be at the major league level (and needs to be sent down when Torii Hunter returns) by giving up five earned runs in his one inning of work. He now has a 7.84 ERA, a .344 BAA, a 1.90 WHIP, and only 14 strikeouts in 30 innings pitched. There really isn't much of a point to him being up right now. If Gardy really requires another pitcher, Matt Garza is well on his way up and he also has J.D. Durbin, a potential reliever, doing well in Triple-A. Neither of them may be necessary however, since Matt Guerrier should be back soon.
Regardless, it was not a great night for the Twins. The good news is that they didn't lose any ground with the White Sox and Tigers both losing and the Twins have their co-ace Francisco Liriano on the mound today. That should spell a likely victory.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
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2 comments:
Admittedly, I think Sowers pitched excellent. Perhaps as good as any pitcher has pitched during the Twins resurgence, so I can't fee too bad about last night. I think he had something like a 1.80 ERA in AAA so he is capable of pitching good. In any case, it would have been nice to see a FEW more hits. Well, as you said we send our rookie to the mound today, lets see how the Indians can manage that! BTW: I recieved the Twins DVD, excellent stuff. Cheesy music, but good video overall.
You can scratch Durbin as a potential reliever for this year. Seeing that hes out for the year.
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