8 Total Updates since May 22, 2012
about 1 year ago Commentary 0 comments
Continueabout 1 year ago Update 0 comments
Justin Morneau hit two home runs, but three home runs in a six-run sixth inning helped the Chicago White Sox take the rubber match against the Twins on Thursday night, 11-8.
Cole De Vries made his MLB debut for the Twins and finished with a decent final line, but was not helped by two Minnesota errors. De Vries only gave up three earned runs -- all on solo home runs, including back-to-back jacks in that six-run sixth inning -- and struck out four in five innings, but the White Sox were also given three unearned runs due to the errors.
Brian Duensing was summoned for De Vries in the sixth, but he loaded the bases after getting the first out and then gave up a grand salami to Alejandro De Aza to all but put the game out of reach at that point, 10-5.
Morneau did his best to bring the Twins back, homering in the seventh and ninth innings, but the Twins would score no more and lose 11-8.
Joe Mauer also homered and had two hits in the loss.
The Twins will start a three-game series with the Tigers on Friday night.
For more on the Twins, head over to Twinkie Town. For more on the White Sox, check out South Side Sox. And for more MLB news and expert analysis, be sure to visit Baseball Nation.
about 1 year ago Update 0 comments
The Minnesota Twins will send Cole DeVries to the hill in the Thursday's rubber match with the Chicago White Sox.
DeVries is part of Minnesota ongoing quest to sort out its starting rotation. Full-blown implosions by one-time starters Francisco Liriano and Jason Marquis have forced the Twins to get creative -- or maybe desperate -- in the quest for arms.
DeVries was 1-4 with a 4.24 ERA in triple-A Rochester, which aren't exactly call-up numbers. But the Twins, who own the worst team ERA in baseball at 5.30 -- the only other team above 4.64 is the Colorado Rockies, who play in the league's most hitter-friendly ballpark -- had to do something.
Enter the right-handed DeVries, who played college ball at the University of Minnesota.
(Anthony Swarzak, who began the season as a starter but was sent to the bullpen after losing his first three games, is expected to start Friday.)
Philip Humber will be the Sox's Thursday starter. Humber is 1-2 with a 5.31 ERA. In 28 starts in 2011, Humber was 9-9 with a 3.75 ERA.
Thanks to nine straight losses by the Chicago Cubs, the Twins no longer own baseball's worst record. The Cubs are 15-29, and the Twins 15-28.
First pitch Thursday is scheduled for 7:10.
For more on the Minnesota Twins, check out Twinkie Town. You can also head over to SB Nation's main MLB hub at Baseball Nation, or watch SB Nation's YouTube channel:
about 1 year ago Update 0 comments
After beating up on the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, 9-2, the Minnesota Twins were stifled by Chris Sale and the Sox on Wednesday night, 6-0.
Sale went seven scoreless innings, striking out six and only allowing two hits while walking another two. The Twins only managed another two hits off the White Sox bullpen and were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
Although the bats didn't do much damage, the defense didn't do the Twins any favors, either. The Twins committed three errors, which cost them three runs. Otherwise, starter Scott Diamond didn't pitch all that poorly, allowing just two earned in six innings of work.
Francisco Liriano had another successful appearance from the bullpen for the Twins. Since the switch, he has hrown 3.2 scoreless innings in three games.
The Twins and White Sox close out there three-game series on Thursday at 7:10 p.m. CT before the Twins host the Tigers for three.
For more on the Twins, head over to Twinkie Town. For more on the White Sox, check out South Side Sox. And for more MLB news and expert analysis, be sure to visit Baseball Nation.
about 1 year ago Update 0 comments
On Wednesday night, the Minnesota Twins will look to build upon a dominating 9-2 win when the team faces the Chicago White Sox in the second game of a three-game set at U.S. Cellular Field on Tuesday night. In order to do that, the team's bats will need to be as active as they were in the first game of the series.
Here is the Twins' projected lineup courtesy of the club's official twitter account:
Lineup vs CWS: Span CF, Mastroianni RF, Mauer C, Willingham LF, Morneau 1B, Doumit DH, Dozier SS, Plouffe 3B, Carroll 2B, Diamond P
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) May 23, 2012
Despite the beat down on Tuesday, the White Sox have been fairly offensive lately outscoring their opponents 22-7 in the four games prior to game one against the Twins.
Here is the White Sox projected lineup for Wednesday:
1. Alejandro De Aza, Center Field
2. Gordon Beckham, Second Base
3. Adam Dunn, Designated Hitter
4. Paul Konerko, First Base
5. Alex Rios, Right Field
6. A.J. Pierzynski, Catcher
7. Dayan Viciedo, Left Field
8. Alexei Ramirez, Short Stop
Starting Pitcher: Chris Sale
For more on the Twins, head over to Twinkie Town. For more on the White Sox, check out South Side Sox. And for more MLB news and expert analysis, be sure to visit Baseball Nation.
about 1 year ago Update 0 comments
While the Minnesota Twins may still be sitting in the cellar of the American League's Central Division, things have started to go the way of the struggling club. Coming off of a dominating performance against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night (which saw the Twins score nine consecutive runs en route to a 9-2 victory), the team has won five of their last six and has scored nine or more runs in half of those games.
Minnesota will look to carry that success into Wednesday night when they play the second game of a three-game set against the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago.
The White Sox have been on a bit of a roll themselves as of late winning four consecutive games where they outscored their opponents 22-7 prior to the blowout loss to the Twins on Tuesday night. The team currently sits 3.5 games back of the Cleveland Indians for first place in the Central and will undoubtedly be looking to gain ground with some wins against a division foe.
The projected starters are Scott Diamond for the Twins and Chris Sale for the White Sox. Diamond has been impressive this year accumulating a 3-0 record in as many games started in addition to a 1.40 ERA in 19.1 innings pitched as well as a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 19-2.
Sale is 4-2 this year in eight appearances (seven starts) and has a 2.91 ERA in 43.1 innings pitched. He has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 40-12.
For more on the Twins, head over to Twinkie Town. For more on the White Sox, check outSouth Side Sox. And for more MLB news and expert analysis, be sure to visit Baseball Nation.
about 1 year ago Update 0 comments
P.J. Walters gave up a run in the first and ninth innings, but zero in between en route to a complete game win on Tuesday night against the Chicago White Sox, 9-2.
Of course, Walters received plenty of run support in the win. Justin Morneau hit his sixth home run of the season, a three-run shot in the fourth inning that chased White Sox starter Gavin Floyd. Josh Willingham and Alexi Casilla knocked in another two runs apiece.
Walters was the real story, though, striking out eight in his first career complete game. He allowed just five hits and walked two batters on 110 pitches, helping him improve to 2-1 on the season with a 2.95 ERA.
The three-game set continues on Wednesday night at 8:10 p.m. ET.
For more on the Twins, head over to Twinkie Town. For more on the White Sox, check out South Side Sox. And for more MLB news and expert analysis, be sure to visit Baseball Nation.
about 1 year ago Update 0 comments
Looking to atone for Monday's 16-4 debacle against Milwaukee, the Minnesota Twins will try to get the best of Chicago starter Gavin Floyd in game one of a new series on Tuesday evening.
The Twins enter with victories in four of their last five games and six out of their past ten, but sat witness as everything came crashing down in embarrassing fashion yesterday in Milwaukee. Starter Jason Marquis, who was tattooed for eight earned runs in just 1.2 innings, was actually cut by the organization on Tuesday in a sign of clear frustration with the pitching staff. Manager Ron Gardenhire will hope to receive a more consistent performance from Tuesday's starter P.J. Walters.
For Chicago, slugger Paul Konerko will return to the lineup after being hit by a pitch in the face over the weekend. Konerko, who is hitting .363 with eight home runs this year, sat out two games because of the injury, and adds an extra layer of pop to a Chicago lineup that has already smacked 46 homers as a team this season.
Here are the lineups for Tuesday's series opener:
Twins
1. Denard Span - CF
2. Ben Revere - RF
3. Joe Mauer - C
4. Josh Willingham - LF
5. Justin Morneau - 1B
6. Ryan Doumit - DH
7. Brian Dozier - SS
8. Alexi Casilla - 2B
9. Jamey Carroll - 3B
P.J. Walters - SP
White Sox
1. Alejandro De Aza - CF
2. Gordon Beckham - 2B
3. Adam Dunn - DH
4. Paul Konerko - 1B
5. A.J. Pierzynski - C
6. Alex Rios - RF
7. Dayan Viciedo - LF
8. Alexei Ramirez - SS
9. Eduardo Escobar - 3B
Gavin Floyd - SP
For more on the Twins, head over to Twinkie Town. For more on the White Sox, check out South Side Sox. And for more MLB news and expert analysis, be sure to visit Baseball Nation.
about 1 year ago Article 0 comments
The Twins have won four of their last five and tote the rarest of commodities -- momentum -- into this week's three-game series with the White Sox.
Photographs by
Micah Taylor,
clairity, and
Fibonacci Blue used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.