Ron Gardenhire said today that Nick Blackburn would be a part of the starting rotation this season, and he looked sharp today in the Twins' 6-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Blackburn didn't give up a hit in three innings while striking out two, and retired five of the seven hitters he didn't strike out on ground ball outs. He was followed up by Matt Capps and Pat Neshek, each of whom threw one hitless inning of relief. The only Twins pitcher to give up a run on the day was Jeff Manship, who allowed a sixth-inning sacrifice fly to Rays catcher John Jaso.
The Twins got on the board early, scoring five runs in the first three innings, including a huge solo blast from first baseman Chris Parmalee in the third inning. Unfortunately, Parmalee also took home the golden sombrero for the afternoon, as his other four at-bats all ended in strikeouts.
The Twins' record for the spring thus far moves to 5-2 with their win today, while the Rays drop to 1-6.
In other news, Delmon Young has suffered a setback to his turf toe injury, and is now out indefinitely. Hopefully this setback will be a temporary one, and Delmon will be in the lineup again before the Twins head to Toronto for the season opener.