It was a close one, but Boof Bonser (5-5, 4.50 ERA) rocked the house Saturday night, delivering his second straight quality start as he held the Tigers to just 1 run on 5 hits over seven innings in Minnesota's 2-1 win over Detroit. This victory brings the Twins within 3 games of the divisional lead, and still a half game ahead of the White Sox, with Chicago's 10-8 win over the Indians.
At first, it looked like we'd see a short outing for the starter, since he already had 66 pitches under his belt through the first four innings. But Boof busted out three 1-2-3 innings and finished with 104 total pitches on the night. He struck out five batters and walked just one, his first in 18 innings. The run came in the fourth after walking leadoff batter Sean Casey before he scored on an Omar Infante groundout.
Nate Robertson (12-12, 3.84 ERA) managed seven innings allowing 2 runs off 6 hits, with 1 walk and 5 strikeouts. Michael Cuddyer singled to center in the second and then scored on a fielding error by Infante for a 1-0 lead. The error allowed Justin Morneau to reach second base before advancing to third on the throw. Deja Vu! Torii Hunter followed with a smashed single to left, driving in Morneau to put the Twins ahead, 2-0. Pat Neshek (2.15 ERA) and Joe Nate (1.71 ERA) combined for three strikeouts in two scoreless innings to put a lid on it.
Gardy and company says it's time to get serious when it comes to the Twins' starting pitching. Scott Baker was 5-4 with a 2.67 ERA in 12 starts for AAA Rochester this season, but went 4-8 with a 6.72 ERA in 14 starts for the Twins. Rick Anderson feels that a large part of those struggles have been due to Baker's lack of confidence at this level, referring to his pitching as "timid". After Scott's last start, Matt Guerrier (3.04 ERA) will get the nod for Tuesday's game against the Oakland Athletics at the Metrodome. Matt has been a large part of the success of the bullpen when healthy, and has yet to earn his first Major League win. I'm very much looking forward to seeing him pitch more than just a couple of innings.Defense wins ballgames, too
VS. 
If there's anyone the Twins can look to for a W, it's this guy. Johan Santana (17-5, 2.84) will be the icing on the cake for this four game series against Detroit Sunday afternoon at 1:10pm CT, as he takes the hill looking for his 18th, what would be a crucial series win for the Twins, versus Jeremy Bonderman (11-7. 4.02 ERA) and the Tigers. The Twins will have an opportunity to move within two games with a win. It's been a long road for this team, and they've worked their tails off for this.
Speaking of hard-working players, Francisco Liriano was to make his Minor League start for Rochester Saturday night, throwing around 50 pitches for the team. If he feels well and is ready, we could see him on the mound for the Twins as early as Wednesday against the A's. This is something Minnesota desperately needs to happen. No one wants to rush Liriano's return, but the club has received nothing but good news since he's been rehabbing, and are anxious to get him back in the pennant race where he belongs.
Speaking of hard-working players, Francisco Liriano was to make his Minor League start for Rochester Saturday night, throwing around 50 pitches for the team. If he feels well and is ready, we could see him on the mound for the Twins as early as Wednesday against the A's. This is something Minnesota desperately needs to happen. No one wants to rush Liriano's return, but the club has received nothing but good news since he's been rehabbing, and are anxious to get him back in the pennant race where he belongs. 
3 comments:
I am so proud of our team and Boof!! He has stepped up like crazy for the last three or four starts. Although we left bases loaded twice we stuck to it and our amazing pitching won it for us again. Most people will say, Twins won because of the errors the Tigers made, but I honestly believe that we won because we took extra bases and created situations and played at our strengths, making the Tigers crack. Bummer the White Sox had to win again, the battle is on. Time to win this series!
Megan, my only faithful commenter, you rule. I was so happy to see Boof with another quality start and a win. How excited are you to have Liriano coming back?! That'll be nice. THe Twins just took off after he made his first start, and I think it'll really be a boost for the club to have him around again. And those pesky Whie Sox, the're not going away anytime soon. They have a series coming up with Detroit - who do you root for in that situation? Do you just root against a sweep? It should be interesting.
Thank you, lol.
Liriano coming back will be a HUGE boost!! I know the team will be even more excited and pumped, which makes me happy. I just pray that he continues regularly to work on his injury so it should not happen again. And you couldn't have said it better about the White Sox not going away..makes me mad personally, lol. I didn't know that they had an upcoming series versus the Tigers. And never would have known who to root for, but...I'm beginning to like your thinking, I might just have to root against a sweep! That's simple enough.
Post a Comment