The Minnesota Twins once again opened up a fresh series with a loss on Thursday night, falling to Toronto 6-2 in the first of a four-game set. Despite racking up seven hits and three walks, Ron Gardenhire's team could not consistently generate scoring opportunities for yet another 9-inning contest.
The Twins' sole extra-base hit on the evening came from the bat of surging outfielder Josh Willingham, who belted his seventh homer of the year off Toronto starter Henderson Alvarez in the sixth inning. Along with Willingham's blast, rookie outfielder Erik Komatsu finished 2-for-3 despite a largely invisible night from his teammates.
Picking up the loss for the Twins was veteran righty Jason Marquis, who pitched just 4.0 innings for his shortest outing of the season. Marquis walked three and struck out two more, but gave up six runs (five earned) on seven hits before being pulled at the 86-pitch mark.
Stuck in a massive hole at 8-23 on the year, the Twins will send a winless Nick Blackburn to the hill to face Toronto's Kyle Drabek in game two on Friday.
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