The Week That Was: April 20th – April 26th
It was a weird and short week for the Twins, partly because of two scheduled off days and partly because of the weather. The Twins got a two game break on Monday and Tuesday and got to play a two game series against the Boston Red Sox in a one day doubleheader. The hot Sox made the Twins look like a bunch of amateurs as they scored a total of 17 runs to the paltry 4 runs the Twins put on the board.
The Twins tried their best to wipe the slate clean as the team traveled to Ohio for a three-game weekend series against the division rival Cleveland Indians. The Indians, who have gotten off to a bad start, didn’t hit too well against Nick Blackburn and Kevin Slowey and scored a total of two runs against the Twins. The Indians did manage to salvage one game against the Twins to avoid being swept at home.
The biggest news of the week, in my opinion, is the state of Twins pitching – both in the starting rotation and in the bullpen.
It is not hard to see that aside from Glen Perkins, the Twins starting rotation has had a rough beginning to the 2009 season. Nick Blackburn and Kevin Slowey, while not quite in last year’s form, had two great outings in Cleveland to help bring down their bloated ERAs.
Blackburn, who had given up 12 runs over 17 1/3 innings in his first three starts, held the Indians to a run and struck out four on his way to his first win of the season. Slowey, who was also sitting at 12 runs over in 18 1/3 innings, struck out seven while giving up one earned run in his near shut out gem of a game against the Tribe.
What is concerning, though, are the performances of the cornerstones of the rotation, Scott Baker and Francisco Liriano. Both pitchers have gotten off to a slow start this season and were roughed up on Wednesday at Fenway Park against the Red Sox. The two pitchers gave up 13 runs off of 14 hits and five walks. This, along with their other rough outings, added to their high ERAs of 12.46 for Baker and 7.06 for Liriano.
If their starting pitching wasn’t already in enough trouble, the bullpen took a hit with Jesse Crain being put on the 15-day disabled list due to an inflammation in his throwing shoulder. Taking his place on the roster was Jose Mijares, who had been pitching week in Triple-A after a disastrous spring training. Since being called up, Mijares has pitched two solid innings giving up a hit while striking out two.
Finally, also in the pitching realm, Philip Humber, whose skyrocketing ERA led to him being designated for assignment, cleared waivers and is back in Rochester with the Twins Triple-A affiliate. This is good news for the club as many felt that another team would claim him as he was out of options. Humber has been moved back into part of the starting rotation that will hopefully give him more innings to work things out.
The Twins have had their fair share of pitching problems already this season, especially for a team whose pitching is top-notch, but it could always be worse. None of their starting pitchers have reached Chien-Ming Wang levels of a 34.50 ERA as of yet.
Game Results
April 22: Boston 10, Minnesota 1
April 22: Boston 7, Minnesota 3
April 24: Minnesota 5, Cleveland 1
April 25: Minnesota 7, Cleveland 1
April 26: Cleveland 4, Minnesota 2
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