Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Twins Win - Barely!

The Twins were cruising to a 3-0 lead before they hit a Delmon Young-sized speed bump in the 9th. They held on to win in 12 innings, but it was a hardly a feel-good win. I'm not going to be too critical of Delmon Young because he was trying to make a good play. Obviously, it wasn't necessary, but he's been ridden hard by lots of people and had he made the catch, it would have preserved the shutout. He learned a valuable lesson at 22, and the next time it won't just be excused.

Three Stars:
Nick Blackburn - 8.1 IP, 8 H, 2 ER (by Nathan), 4 K, 92 pitches and (most impressively) only 17 balls. The ending was unfortunate; but the performance was amazing. Based on his first 11 starts, don't we have to view him as a top-of-the-line starter?
Justin Morneau - 3 for 5, BB, R. The home-run numbers haven't been there, but slowly Morneau's batting average is becoming Mauer-like.
Alexi Casilla - 3 for 6, RBI, SB. Casilla has settled into the 2-hole nicely. He has become a table-setter from the lineup. When Gomez happens to get on, Casilla does a great job of getting him over. Does anyone else think that the lineup will eventually see Casilla leading off and Gomez batting 2nd?

Livan vs the Royals tonight.

No comments: