So apparently it's going to be one of those seasons. Days after being no-hit by the Angels' Jered Weaver, the Minnesota Twins once again allowed an elite pitcher to pad his resume in yet another abysmal loss. This time, however, it was Seattle All-Star Felix Hernandez, a man widely regarded as one of the best pure pitchers in baseball, who made the Minnesota lineup look like a bunch of little leaguers.
Right away it was almost as if Hernandez picked up right where Weaver left off, as the crafty righthander struck out nine, walked just two, and yielded exactly one hit to cruise through eight full innings. The win moved Hernandez to 3-1 on the year and lowered his season ERA to a sparkling 1.89, but raised serious questions about Minnesota's light-hitting lineup going forward.
For the Twins, this is yet another bitter pill to swallow. Being no-hit by one of the sport's best pitchers on any given day could be chalked up to circumstance, but a near repeat performance less than a week later is a clear-cut sign of a problem. Now in a massive hole at 7-19 on the year, the Twins find themselves stuck in a precarious position in just the second month of the season, which is never a good sign.
Minnesota hitters will hope to wake up from the plate in Sunday's series finale, as the Twins will send an 0-3 Nick Blackburn to the hill for a chance to steal the three-game set.
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