Texas Comes in for the Last Visit to the Dome

[catman]

Starting Friday, the Rangers will be bringing down the curtain on their trips to the Dome. Over the years, they have played some very good games with the Twins there.
Friday, Tommy Hunter goes against Brian Duensing in a battle of young starters.
Saturday, its Scott Feldman against Scott Baker.
Sunday, its Kevin Millwood and Carl Pavano.
Again, if the Twins play well, they should be able to take 2 of the 3 games, but the starting pitching will be the key.

[henks]

They really need to take at least 2 of the 3 games here.

Every game is critical as we come into September.

[henks]

Great outing by Duensing.

Kinda shaky outing by Nathan...not sure what his deal is.

Twins win 3-2.

[catman]

Possibly Nathan needs a breather for a day or 2? Maybe Mijares should take over the 9th inning?
Is Duensing going to be a solid starter for the rest of the season? We can hope so.
Its always good to get the first game of a series. It sets the tone properly.
It appears the Twins have made a switch in the starting assignments, with Pavano going Saturday and Baker on Sunday.

[catman]

Baker has allowed 5 hits, no walks and has 6 K's through 6+ innings. Twins up 2-1 on a Kubel 2-run homer.

[catman]

Baker throws a belt-high fastball down the middle of the plate to Nelson Cruz with Kinsler on base and the result is as expected. Texas up 3-2.

[catman]

Another "interesting" save for Nathan. He walked Blalock, allowed a single to Cruz, made a throwing error on a fielder's choice at 2nd loading the bases, and then struck out Andrus, got Borbon to fly out to short left, and got Young to ground out to Harris at 3B, unassisted. Twins win 5-3, getting back to .500 and staying 4.5 games behind the Tigers. They are now 1.5 games ahead of the White Sox and have a real chance to put some distance between themselves and the Sox when they limp into the Dome for 3 games on Monday.

[catman]

Jon Rauch picks up a win in his Twins' debut. He pitched a nice inning.