Five in a row!

The Twins rode a big inning for the second night in a row to pull out a 6-1 win over the Diamondbacks. It was a game very similar to last night's game. Six different players scored, eight players got hits and five players knocked in runs. Sound similar to something you read about last night?

The Stars:
Nick Blackburn - 7 IP, 3 H, ER, 3 K, 89 pitches. For a majority of the night, it looked like a great start by Blackburn would be wasted. Regardless of what that offense (finally) did (or didn't do), it doesn't take anything away from this performance. The knock on Blackburn was always about his low strikeout rate. Forget about it. He's not going to strike many guys out, sure. But he's also got great control and doesn't allow a lot of hits. This isn't Livan we're talking about. Blackburn will continue to figure into the rotation-equation for a long time.
The hitters of the 7th inning - 7 for 10, BB, 3 2B, 6 R/RBI. The inning was started with Mauer's bunt single. Of course, all the hitters batted, not all contributed with runs, but this was a great inning to watch.

The Twins have now pulled within 2.5 games of the first-place White Sox. This is a half-game better than when they started their series in Chicago. But before we get too excited, let's remember that the Twins will be facing Brandon Webb on Sunday and Jake Peavy on Tuesday; they are two of the best pitchers in the National League.

Let's hope for another good game tomorrow!