Looking to avoid falling to a woeful 7-20 on the season, the Minnesota Twins are in quite a bit of early trouble in Sunday's series finale with the Mariners, and trail 4-0 after just two innings.
Twins starter Nick Blackburn turned in a miserable first inning, and was knocked around for three runs on three hits after throwing just 13 of his 27 pitches for strikes. Unfortunately for Minnesota, his second inning provided more of the same, as left fielder Mike Carp collected his first home run of the season to make the game 4-0 before Blackburn could even record an out. Entering the day, the winless Blackburn had given up 27 hits and 15 earned runs in 20.1 innings pitched.
A two-run double from Seattle clean-up hitter Jesus Montero opened the scoring in the first, and red-hot third baseman Kyle Seager wasted little time knocking his teammate home to give the Mariners a quick 3-0 advantage. Carp's solo shot extended the lead to four runs, a deficit that appears insurmountable for a Minnesota offense that remains baffled at the plate.
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