Game #19 - Let's Go Home!

The Twins couldn't complete the sweep in Cleveland, losing to the Indians 4-2 on Sunday. They did have their share of chances however, and come home from a 2-3 road trip with a 9-10 record.

Starter Glen Perkins did not go 8 innings for the first time this season. He took the loss and surrendered 4 runs and 7 hits in 5 innings of work. Relievers Matt Guerrier, Craig Breslow, and Luis Ayala finished up with 3 scoreless innings.

The Twins fell behind 4-0 before mounting a rally in the top of the 7th inning. Pinch hitter Denard Span singled home 2 runs and a walk to Brendan Harris left the bases loaded with just one out and Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel coming up. Reliever Tony Sipp, making his second major league appearance, struck Morneau and Kubel out to end the threat, and the Tribe held on from there. It was disappointing to see the team's second and third-best hitters waving helplessly at sliders from a rookie.

Jose Morales had a great day at the plate for the Twins, going 4-4 and raising his average to .375. Delmon Young, Joe Crede, and Span had the other three hits - all singles.

The Twins now head home to take on the Rays Monday-Wednesday. The pitching matchups for those games:

• Monday, 7:05pm - Jeff Niemann (1-2) vs. Scott Baker (0-2)
• Tuesday, 7:05pm - James Shields (2-2) vs. Francisco Liriano (0-4)
• Wednesday, 7:05pm - Scott Kazmir (3-1) vs. Nick Blackburn (1-1)

On another Twins' note, catcher Joe Mauer will continue his rehab stint in Ft. Myers this week and will join the team this coming Friday against Kansas City, as Joe Christensen reports. He'll catch on Monday and Tuesday, DH Wednesday, and will join the Twins after their Thursday off-day. That's certainly good news.

Around the AL Central:

• Toronto 4, Chicago White Sox 3 - The Blue Jays scored a single run off Scott Linebrink in the 8th inning and held on to beat the Whities. Brian Anderson had 3 hits for Chicago, and Jose Contreras had his first solid start of the season.
• Detroit 3, Kansas City 2 - Armando Galarraga improved to 3-0 on the season with a strong 6 inning, 3 hit, 1 run outing for the Tigers. Brandon Inge hit his 7th homer of the season. Sidney Ponson was good in a losing effort for KC, and dropped to 0-3 on the season.

Around the Minors:

• AAA - Rochester 7, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 3 - The Red Wings salvaged the final game of this series, broke its 8-game losing streak, and defeated the Yankees for the first time this season. Brian Duensing gave the Wings exactly what they needed to rest a taxed bullpen, pitching 5 innings, allowing 5 hits and 3 runs. Philip Humber and Bobby Keppel each threw 2 scoreless innings. David Winfree and Jeff Christy each had doubles and 2 RBI in the game.
• AA - New Britain 11, Trenton 3 - Danny Valencia and Rene Tosoni each went deep as the Rock Cats used a 16-hit attack to beat Trenton. Jeff Manship got the win for New Britain, going 6 innings, surrendering 7 hits and 3 runs.
• High A - Jupiter 5, Ft. Myers 1 - The Miracle had 9 hits on the game but did not score until the 9th inning in a loss to Jupiter. Joe Mauer went 2-4 as his rehab stint continued. Estarlin de los Santos and Chris Cates had 2 hits apiece. Delois Guerra took the loss, going 6 innings, surrendering 6 hits and 5 runs.
• Low A (game 1) - Kane County 11, Beloit 6 - In the first game of the doubleheader, the Cougars took care of the Snappers. Nick Romero had 3 hits - including a homer - and 4 RBI in a losing cause. Michael Allen had a tough day on the mound, lasting only 1.1 innings, and surrendering 7 hits and 8 runs.
• Low A (game 2) - Kane County 8, Beloit 7 - The Cougars picked up the doubleheader sweep with a comeback win over the Snappers. Alex Romero was a perfect 2-2 at the plate, batted in 2, and scored 2 runs. Shooter Hunt was wild as all hell, going just 2+, giving up only 1 hit, throwing 2 wild pitches, and walking 6. This led to 4 runs allowed. In 11.2 innings this season, Hunt has given up a ghastly 16 runs on just 9 hits. The culprit is 23 walks. Obviously, he needs to get straightened-out.

Misc.:

• A big "thank you" to to Rob, Althea, and Ted ("The RAT Pack") for having me on their radio show on WSRQ 1220 in the Tampa Bay area Sunday night. We spoke about the upcoming Twins/Rays series at the Dome. I really enjoyed my first foray into radio. Check out Ted, Althea, and Rob daily on Examiner.com.
• When you're done reading this entry, check out my column on Examiner.com. I'll link here whenever I write.
• On the YouTube front today, we'll link a song from the worst concert I've ever seen (Janet Jackson, although Triple-T was ok).