Tyner's Debut

Jason Tyner hasn't exactly had the most storied major league career. He owns a light .261/.299/.305 line (before last night) with no home runs in 834 career at-bats. He's already 29 years old and has been with five organizations in his career.

However, his lack of power, great hitting, or any really stand out abilities besides speed, he managed to be a hero for the Twins. Replacing Lew Ford, who has, other then a few big hits, been a complete mess at the plate all year, Tyner had two RBIs and the winning hit in the 10th inning. The thing is, despite Tyner's two RBI and hit to win the game, this reminds me of a game earlier this year, when Luis Castillo had the winning hit in a May game, but wasn't necessarily the hero.

That night, Shannon Stewart helped set up the winning hit. Last night, to me, Justin Morneau's at-bat was big. He had a long fought at-bat against Indians reliever Edward Mujica, forcing him to throw a lot of pitches before flying out. Following his at-bat, Torii Hunter, Jason Kubel, and Tyner had three straight singles to win the game. Obviously, there is no way to prove either is the "hero," but we shouldn't forget Justin's at-bat. He got back on track last night, as well, going 2 for 5 and bringing his average up to .299.

Otherwise, the other large positive of the game was Brad Radke. Giving up a two-run home run to Jason Michaels on a bad breaking ball isn't a great thing, but seven innings with six Ks and only four hits allowed is for Brad. He looked pretty solid against a good Indians lineup. Unfortunately, the Twins failed in many run-scoring opportunities and left Radke without a win.

Today's matchup is most definitely the best of the series. Johan Santana will go up against Cleveland lefty ace C.C. Sabathia. Lets looked forward to seeing the beginning of another great Johan second-half run.