When the series against Texas started, the Twins were shellacked under an onslaught of Texas hitting, and suffered their worst loss of the Ron Gardenhire era, 20-6. Two nights ago, they rallied late and escaped with a win, and last night, they won in a rather convincing fashion.
If this trend continues, tonight the Twins should be the ones putting the 20-6 shellacking on the Rangers. Baseball, go figure.
Scott Baker is scheduled to start for the Twins tonight (8-5, 2.88 ERA), his second start since coming off the disabled list with a right flexor muscle strain. His first outing went well, as he pitched five shutout innings against Detroit, but was removed after only 82 pitches as a precautionary measure. Baker felt no lingering issues in his last outing, so expect the Twins to let him go as long as possible.
Why? Because the Twins bullpen really, really…REALLY…needs a strong outing from the starting rotation again. Brian Duensing pitched a strong 6.2 innings last night, which helped out after Twins starters only managed 7.2 innings in the first two games.
Offensively, the Twins look to keep up their current hot streak, as they’ve pounded out 25 hits in the last two games, lead by Joe Mauer. Mauer delivered a two out, game winning RBI double on Tuesday as a pinch hitter, and hit his first home run of the season last night as Minnesta cruised 7-2.