Twins 4, Indians 3
Indians 10, Twins 1
Twins 11, Indians 3
Joe Mauer went 7-11 in this series with 2 BB, HR, 3 RBI and 5 R. It's amazing how routinely he makes solid contact. I can't help feeling like we're watching something very special with him this season.
Joe Nathan got his first 4-out save of the year on Tuesday - the first of 13 straight game days for the Twins. It worked here, and Gardy shouldn't be afraid to do this more going forward.
Anthony Swarzak's rough 3rd inning on Wednesday doesn't trouble me in the least. It was reminiscent of Liriano's outing last Saturday, and any number of Scott Baker's earlier outings. He just failed to scatter the hits he allowed. Had they all been screaming line drives to the gaps, that might have been cause for concern. But most of them were chip shots just over the infield. Out of 21 batters faced, Swarzak gave up about 3 hard hit balls.
Glen Perkins, meanwhile, allowed 3 ER on 2 HR in 4 IP during his first rehab start at Fort Myers. Doesn't sound like the problem has been corrected quite yet.
I think it would be fair to say that Cliff Lee is a far better pitcher than Carlos Gomez is a hitter. Doesn't it show poor character when someone taunts their inferiors? Why should it bother Lee if Gomez wants to get himself out hitting a 2-strike bunt foul? Shrug your shoulders, shut up and pitch.
Just when it looked like the Twins might finally get to Lee after the 7th started with back-to-back singles from Jason Kubel and Brendan Harris, there was Delmon Young to promptly deflate the rally by grounding weakly into a DP on the first pitch. Over his last 10 games, he's 4 for 37 with 0 XBH, 1 BB and 20 K. As he hit into the DP, I yelled, "You're worthless!" at the screen. But that's actually giving him too much credit. Worthless implies he's not helping the team. Not only is he not helping, he's hurting. I hope they find a way not to play him.
Thursday afternoon's game encapsulated the season in a couple of interesting ways. First, the top 5 hitters of the order, Denard Span, Mauer, Justin Morneau, Kubel and Joe Crede, collected 11 of the Twins' 13 H, scored all 11 R, and drove in all 11 RBI. The bottom of the lineup went 2 for 17.
Second, check out Scott Baker's opponents' numbers over the course of the game: .000/.111/.000 the first time through the order, .222/.222/.444 the second time through, then .444/.444/.777 the third time through. He got away with only 2 ER in 7 IP and a season-high 10 K, so it was really a good start. But he's still got some work to do in the later innings.
The Twins play in Seattle tonight, the site of some of last season's greatest horrors in August. Currently, Adrian Beltre is hitting .244/.275/.355 with 4 HR, and Ken Griffey Jr. is hitting .223/.333/.403. Let's try not to let these mediocre hitters beat us again, OK?
Showing posts with label Anthony Swarzak. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anthony Swarzak. Show all posts
Friday, June 5, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Mmmmmmm, Cheese
Twins 11, Brewers 3
Twins 6, Brewers 2
Twins 6, Brewers 3
After a discouraging 1-6 road trip, it's nice to come back to home, sweet Dome. The Brewers hadn't lost a series in weeks, but were easily taken apart by the Twins' offensive juggernaut. Led by Joe Mauer (5-8, 2 HR, 3 BB, 5 RBI), Justin Morneau (6-10, 3B, HR, 7 RBI), Michael Cuddyer (5-11, 3B, HR, 2 BB, 5 RBI) and Joe Crede (4-10, 2 HR, 3 RBI), the middle of the order didn't miss a beat despite losing Jason Kubel to a swollen knee for the series. Cuddyer thrillingly gave the Twins their second cycle of the season, Morneau capped the series with the Twins' 4th grand slam of the year, and Mauer surpassed his HR production from all of 2008 in just his 22nd game.
Even better than the continuing onslaught from the hitters was the performance of the Twins' starting pitching. Kevin Slowey lasted into the 8th inning, Scott Baker lasted into the ninth, and Anthony Swarzak completed seven shutout innings. It was a most auspicious major league debut for Swarzak, who has been pitching very well ever since being promoted to Rochester. With Glen Perkins struggling in his outings prior to being placed on the DL, I wouldn't be so hasty about sending Swarzak to the bullpen when Perkins returns. We'll see how the next couple of starts go, but Swarzak has a higher upside than Perkins, who could actually do the Twins a lot of good as a middle reliever.
Now, bring on the Red Sox. I've been hoping for weeks that the Twins would get another chance at Brad Penny. He was lucky that they didn't destroy him in the 2nd half of that double-header in April - so many balls were hit hard and to the deepest parts of Fenway Park. The way the Twins are swinging right now, they're going to tear Penny apart if he brings the same stuff he had on that day.
Twins 6, Brewers 2
Twins 6, Brewers 3
After a discouraging 1-6 road trip, it's nice to come back to home, sweet Dome. The Brewers hadn't lost a series in weeks, but were easily taken apart by the Twins' offensive juggernaut. Led by Joe Mauer (5-8, 2 HR, 3 BB, 5 RBI), Justin Morneau (6-10, 3B, HR, 7 RBI), Michael Cuddyer (5-11, 3B, HR, 2 BB, 5 RBI) and Joe Crede (4-10, 2 HR, 3 RBI), the middle of the order didn't miss a beat despite losing Jason Kubel to a swollen knee for the series. Cuddyer thrillingly gave the Twins their second cycle of the season, Morneau capped the series with the Twins' 4th grand slam of the year, and Mauer surpassed his HR production from all of 2008 in just his 22nd game.
Even better than the continuing onslaught from the hitters was the performance of the Twins' starting pitching. Kevin Slowey lasted into the 8th inning, Scott Baker lasted into the ninth, and Anthony Swarzak completed seven shutout innings. It was a most auspicious major league debut for Swarzak, who has been pitching very well ever since being promoted to Rochester. With Glen Perkins struggling in his outings prior to being placed on the DL, I wouldn't be so hasty about sending Swarzak to the bullpen when Perkins returns. We'll see how the next couple of starts go, but Swarzak has a higher upside than Perkins, who could actually do the Twins a lot of good as a middle reliever.
Now, bring on the Red Sox. I've been hoping for weeks that the Twins would get another chance at Brad Penny. He was lucky that they didn't destroy him in the 2nd half of that double-header in April - so many balls were hit hard and to the deepest parts of Fenway Park. The way the Twins are swinging right now, they're going to tear Penny apart if he brings the same stuff he had on that day.
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