Pavano breathes life into Twins

In pitching seven shutout innings against first-place Detroit, the righthander couldn't have done much more in his Twins debut.

By JOE CHRISTENSEN, Star Tribune

Last update: August 9, 2009 - 9:08 AM

DETROIT — Last Sunday, when the Angels waxed the Twins 13-4, Minnesota's only solace was not losing ground on the first-place Tigers.

Detroit suffered an 11-1 loss at Cleveland that day. Carl Pavano had stymied the Tigers again.

Six nights and one trade later, Pavano was surrounded by grateful new teammates, trying to explain his mastery over Detroit this season: Four starts, four victories and a 1.49 ERA.

The Twins crushed Justin Verlander and the Tigers 11-0 behind seven impressive innings from Pavano.

"It happened so quick, I'm still in shock a little bit," Pavano said. "It hasn't really hit me yet."

After losing six of their previous seven games, the Twins climbed within 4 1/2 games of first-place Detroit, with Scott Baker set to face new Tigers acquisition Jarrod Washburn in today's rubber match.

Though Baker has been on his own roll -- going 7-1 since June 1 -- the Twins must wish Pavano could pitch all eight of their remaining games against Detroit. The Tigers are 35-18 at home, and three of those losses have come to Pavano.

This was the first time he upstaged Verlander (12-6), as his other three starts came opposite Armando Galarraga. In those four starts, Pavano's teams have scored 33 runs. "That cushion gives you a little more of a breather, and you can be a little more aggressive," Pavano said.

Leading off the game, Denard Span ripped a fastball from Verlander clocked at 95 miles per hour for a double. Orlando Cabrera moved Span to third with a textbook grounder to second.

The Twins would have been happy with one run, but Pavano's new batterymate, Joe Mauer, did that one better, smashing a two-run homer to left field, Mauer's 20th homer of the season and second in as many games in Detroit.

Pavano (10-8) ran into trouble in the second inning, when the Tigers loaded the bases with one out, but he fanned Adam Everett for a big second out before getting Curtis Granderson on a harmless tapper back to the mound.

The strikeout pitch to Everett was a 91-mph sinker with considerable movement, but the key pitch of the at-bat might have been the 1-1 changeup.

"I hope everyone was watching," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.

In picking his lineup, Gardenhire chose to put Nick Punto at third base and Alexi Casilla at second. "We'll try the speed thing," Gardenhire said. "... We've got a sinkerballer out there who gets ground balls. Catch the ball, and the big guys in the middle will do their thing."

Casilla delivered a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning, stretching the lead to 3-0. The next-half inning, Gardenhire's defensive strategy paid off.

The Tigers had runners at first and second with one out, when Placido Polanco hit a bouncer toward the hole between shortstop and third base. But Punto made a diving stop, fired to second, and Casilla made a quick turn for an inning-ending double play.

The Twins added two more the next inning against Verlander, stretching their lead to 5-0 before adding six more against the Tigers bullpen.

"Defense is the name of the game for me," Pavano said. "I induce contact, and that double play was a huge pick-me-up."

Just like his entire performance was for the Twins.

Recent Twins stories

Mets' Johan Santana throws off mound for 1st time since elbow surgery - August 9, 2009

Mets' Johan Santana throws off mound for 1st time since elbow surgery - New York Mets ace Johan Santana threw off a mound for the first time since elbow surgery last Sept. 1 and said he felt good. More