Twins take first against Tribe

[henks]

Slowey pitched a gem until the 7th, where he struggled a bit. Twins lead 4-2 after Slowey left. Bullpen was a bit shaky, Nathan comes in to get the normal 4 out save.

Good win for the Twins...hopefully they can take this momentum through this short homestand.

[catman]

It would be nice to get 4 wins in a row before going back on the road, wouldn't it?
I didn't see the game, but when I saw the Twins up 4-3 in the bottom of the 8th, I figured it would be a win. Nathan won't blow many saves.
Mauer hit another homer tonight, this one with a runner on. He drove in 3 tonight. If the Twins win the division, or wild card, he is the reason for it.

[catman]

It appears that Swarzak has come back to Earth after a couple of very good starts and/or that Cliff Lee is not done, yet. The Tribe beat our Twins 10-1 this evening.

[henks]

He looked good the first time through the order...that was about it.

[catman]

It appears that Baker has his good stuff today -- 1 baserunner through 4 innings. Kubel is letting him relax a bit with a couple of 3-run homers in as many ABs. The Twins will likely let him pitch until he wants to come out of the game today. Unfortunately, the game isn't on here. I'll watch the "fast-play" replay tonight.

[catman]

10-2 right now. Kubel with 2 homers, Span and Morneau with one each. Morneau has 3 RBI to go with Kubel's 6 and Span's 1.

[catman]

Baker has allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits and a walk -- with 10 K's -- through 7 innings. I think his day may be over, with Ayala or Henn getting a chance to pitch with little pressure on them.

[catman]

Nice inning for Henn -- 17 pitches, 12 strikes. 2 K's and a ground out. No baserunners allowed.

[catman]

Henn finishes off a pretty good game for the Twins.
Baker pitched well and the bats (Kubel) got it going early today. I'd like to see Henn pitch a bit more efficiently, 36 pitches in 2 innings is a bit much, but the Indians didn't do much against him.

[henks]

Nice. I'll have to watch the replay on MLB.tv tonight.

[catman]

Twins' "Squeeze Play" did a good job of showing the game. They show the final pitch of every at bat in the game.

[catman]

Jason Kubel is the first player with 2 3-run homers in a game since Sammy Sosa did it in 2002. Good way to break out of a slump.