twins/mlb

Here are three postgame thoughts following the Twins' 5-1 loss to Boston:

1, WHAT A CRUMMY HOMESTAND: There were some grumpy ballplayers in the clubhouse as the Twins packed and flew out to Atlanta. Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Josh Willingham never appeared to speak to the media before the clubhouse was closed. They aren't hitting with runners in scoring position, with Mauer the most recent example. He struck out with the bases loaded in the eighth with the score 3-1. We all know Willingham isn't the world's greatest outfielder, but we didn't get a chance to ask him how tricky of a play that was (or not) when he played Pedroia's long drive into a home run. They will have to get right on the road trip and try it again in just over a week when the Brewers come to town. The Twins have 15 of their next 20 games on the road. Yikes.

2. PEDRO HERNANDEZ: He must be tired of facing the Red Sox because of how they have had their way with him. He was pulled from the game with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth inning - after throwing 107 pitches. Boston scored three runs on nine hits and a walk off him, including a solo homer by Wil Middlebrooks in the second inning. In three career starts against the Red Sox, Hernandez is 0-2 with a 14.80 ERA. In 10.3 innings, Boston has hit six home runs off of him.

3. KYLE GIBSON RAISES THE STAKES: Class AAA Rochester righthander Kyle Gibson had his best outing of the year on Sunday, taking a no hitter into the eighth inning before finishing with a three-hit complete game shutout as the Red Wings beat Lehigh Valley 11-0. Gibson needed just 93 pitches for his gem – 58 were strikes, 35 were balls. He walked two and struck out eight as his record Improved to 3-5 with a 3.25 ERA.  The Twins have wanted Gibson to show more consistency, so his next start will be important. Before Sunday, his previous outing lasted three innings. Before that, he threw a complete game. Before that, he was knocked out in the fifth. Before that, he threw 62/3 scoreless innings. So he needs to string some good outings together. If Gibson has another strong outing in five days I hope they consider bringing him up then. He's on an innings limit, so it would be nice to see him for a few starts. The problem is, Cole De Vries is healthy and was on the team before he was injured. Samuel Deduno is almost ready after recovering from a pulled groin. Even P.J. Walters has pitched well of late. The Twins might replace Hernandez in the rotation, but it might not be with Gibson.
 

The Twins have had one clunker of a homestand, losing six of eight games. And Boston has them teed up for a sweep as they send John Lackey to the mound against Pedro Hernandez.

Josh Willingham is getting a day off as he continues to struggle and his frustration mounts. ``He was a little fired up yesterday,'' Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. Willingham is in a funk. He's taking hittable pitches and swinging at pitches he shouldn't. Well, he has gotten a cookie here and there, but has failed to do anything with them.

Willingham finished April batting .250. In May, Willingham is batting .132 with a .208 slugging percentage. He has not homered in 74 plate appearances. Overall, he's batting .198 with five home runs and 18 RBI. At the same point last year, Hammer was batting .298 with eight homers and 24 RBI.

Ryan Doumit is getting today off after a long game last night that included him trying to run over Boston's catcher at home plate.

Brian Dozier also isn't in the lineup as his batting average plummets to the .200 level (.212). He's been working on trying to cut down on the fly balls. He's reminding me of Nick Punto. Jamey Carroll, swinging a hot bat of late, is in at second.

When Cole De Vries was activated from the DL yesterday (and officially sent to Rochester) it was the first transaction of any kind for the club in a month. The last move they made was to call Oswaldo Arica from Rochester on April 17.

Rochester first baseman Chris Colabello has been named Twins minor league player of the week after batting .560 in seven games with three home runs and eight RBI.

Red Sox (26-17)

1. Shane Victorino, CF
2. Jonny Gomes, LF
3. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
4. David Ortiz, DH
5. Mike Napoli, 1B
6. Daniel Nava, RF
7. Will Middlebrooks, 3B
8. Salty, C
9. Pedro Ciriaco, SS

Pitching: John Lackey, RHP

Twins (18-21)

1. Jamey Carroll, 2B
2. Joe Mauer, C
3. Justin Morneau, 1B
4. Trevor Plouffe, 3B
5. Oswaldo Arcia, DH
6. Wilkin Ramirez, LF
7. Chris Parmelee, RF
8. Aaron Hicks, CF
9. Pedro Florimon, SS

Pitching: Pedro Hernandez, LHP
 

Here are three thoughts following the Twins' loss to the White Sox

1. BAD LOSS: This is not a good White Sox team but the Twins gave away so much on Wednesday. If they cash in some early scoring chances, they knock Axelrod out of the game and get into Chicago's middle relief - always the soft underbelly of a pitching staff. The two innings in which they got the first two batters on base and stranded them just can't happen. I put this one in the 'Bad Loss,' category, even if Adam Dunn and Dayan Viciedo are pounding the ball now.

2. DUNN IN BY DUNN: White Sox first baseman Adam Dunn blasted two home runs on Wednesday, giving the hulking slugger three in the final two games of the series. When he's able to extend his arms and makes solid contact, the home runs look effortless, which is how they looked on Wednesday. He hit a two-run homer off of Mike Pelfrey in the third inning that hit off of the batter's eye behind the center field wall. Then he returned in the eighth to hit a two-run home run off of Josh Roenicke that landed in the Twins bullpen. ``He tried to kill the bullpen,'' Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said, ``and did a really nice job of that.'' Gardy was talking about the facility not the pitchers - but it could have had dual meanings. Roenicke has given up two home runs to Dunn this season, the other coming Apr. 21 in Chicago. It could have been three, but Aaron Hicks robbed Dunn of a home run on Monday on a pitch thrown by Roenicke. Time for a different approach.

3. UH-OH OSWALDO: Oswaldo Arcia stepped to the plate early Wednesday, and White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper heads to the mound. A few pitches later, Arcia struck out. We now know what Cooper told Alexrod.``Do not throw him another fastball,'' pressbox sage Patrick Reusse said. Arcia was fed a diet of breaking balls and off-speed pitches as he struck out twice, fouled out in front of the White Sox dugout and tapped back to the mound. Teams are starting to adjust to the rookie, and the next move is up to him.
 

Justin Morneau turns 32 years old today, and he has a history of celebrating in style.

He's a career .360 hitter on his birthday with two doubles and four home runs. Those homers came in twos - at Cleveland in 2007 and at New York in 2009.

His birthday comes during a 10-game hitting streak during which he's batting .425. And his 17 RBI this month are the most in baseball.

BTW, it's also Brian Dozier's birthday. He's not in the lineup today.

Josh Willingham doubled off of Jake Peavy on Tuesday, and the Twins hope it's the start of a hot streak for the struggling slugger. Willingham went the other way with the pitch and drove it to right-center.

``That's what he's got to do right now,'' Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.

Mike Pelfrey is on the mound today as he tries to take another step forward in his comeback season following Tommy John surgery. One thing the coaching staff has asked him to do is work faster, which might help him get in a good rhythm. Pelfrey, Gardy, said has a little Scott Baker in him in that he will get off the rubber, walk around the mound and scratch his head between pitches as he thinks about his next pitch.

The Twins want him to stay on the rubber more, trust his catcher, get the sign and execute.

One minor league note: Class A Cedar Rapids outfielder Adam Brett Walker II hit his third grand slam of the season last night, the ball clearing the batter's eye in center and traveling an estimated 450 feet. Walker, a third-round pick last season, is batting .309 with 10 home runs and 44 RBI in 35 games.

White Sox

1. Dewayne Wise, CF
2. Alexi Ramirez, SS
3. Alex Rios, RF
4. Adam Dunn, 1B
5. Paul Konerko, DH
6. Conor Gillaspie, 3B
7. Dayan Viciedo, LF
8. Jeff Keppinger, 2B
9. Hector Gimenez, C

Pitching: Dylan Axelrod, RHP

Twins

1. Jamey Carroll, 2B
2. Joe Mauer, DH
3. Josh Willingham, LF
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Ryan Doumit, C
6. Oswaldo Arcia, RF
7. Aaron Hicks, CF
8. Eduardo Escobar, 3B
9. Pedro Florimon, SS

Pitching: Mike Pelfrey, RHP

1. MORE AARON HICKS: Teammates have not forgotten how Aaron Hicks looked in spring training: ``We saw what he can do in spring, offensively and defensively,'' reliever Josh Roenicke said. ``He had that swag to him and self-confidence. It's tough to keep that when you are struggling a little bit.'' They hope Hicks has it back now as his 2-for-3 night raised his batting average to .154. Hicks even drew a walk in his final at-bat, remaining composed instead of trying to jack a third home run. And the catch? Of course, it reminded everyone of catches made by Kirby, Torii, Denard and Ben. ``That catch is going to rank right up there,'' Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said, ``especially the moment he caught the ball. It was a big moment and a big play.''

1A. MORE ON THE CATCH: Roenicke threw the pitch to Dunn and thought it was happening all over again. Dunn homered off of Roenicke on Apr. 21 in Chicago - to left-center field. So Roenicke was in Flashback City.``It was identical to the last time I faced Dunn,'' Roenicke said. ``I tend to throw it right into his bat path.'' Justin Morneau said he thought the ball was gone, based on Dunn's demeanor when he started running out of the batter's box. Then he looked out at Hicks. ``I saw him jump and there was a pause that everyone in the ballpark had - that they weren't sure if he had it or not,'' Morneau said, ``and he jumped up with a smile on his face. That was cool.''

2. PEDRO HERNANDEZ: After a 33-pitch first inning, Pedro Hernandez seemed on his way to an early exit. But he gave the Twins  5.1 mostly decent innings. ``In the first inning I wasn't hitting my spots and after that I tried to locate my pitches and throw down low.'' It worked, and Hernandez ended the third inning with 53 pitches while White Sox starter Hector Santiago was at 73 pitches (the Twins started working him for long at-bats). Hernandez improved to 2-0 and muted some of the calls from fans to replace him with Kyle Gibson.

3. WHITE SOX: Their starting pitching hasn't been too shabby, even without Gavin Floyd and John Danks. But the White Sox look like they will struggle to get out of the AL Central basement. They aren't scoring runs. They don't have any team speed to manufacture runs. Paul Konerko is not hitting. They don't work counts. Jeff Keppinger has zero walks in 126 at-bats. The South Siders look to be set up for a long, long summer.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: If you want to talk about this game, I'm filling in for Paul Allen tomorrow on KFAN from 9 to Noon. We'll talk Twins, the Vikes stadium design, the baseball draft, and more. Bert Blyleven is in from 11-Noon.

The rain has ended, the tarp is off and players are on the field for early work before the Twins play host to the White Sox.

Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau enter the series on fire. Mauer has a 11-game hitting streak and is on pace to hit 71 doubles (which would be a MLB record). Morneau is batting .345 over his last 14 games with 15 RBI. His 13 RBI this month leads MLB. If both those guys are hitting, the Twins offense usually purrs (except when Wei-Yin Chen is pitching.

Good thing the Twins are missing lefthander Chris Sale this week. The kid pitched a one-hit shutout against the Angels last night, taking a perfect game into the seventh.

In the, you-can't-make-this-up department, the Twins have a giveaway tomorrow night - blankets. It just so happens that the high is supposed to hit 90 degrees, by far the warmest day of the year!

Aaron Hicks, who missed a couple games with a sore elbow, is back in the lineup.

Pedro Florimon, who missed the Orioles series with a sore hamstring, also is back.

White Sox infielder Jeff Keppinger has not drawn a walk in 125 plate appearances this season.

Will be back later with updates!

White Sox (15-20)

1. Alejandro De Aza, CF
2. Alexei Ramirez, SS
3. Alex Rios, RF
4. Dayan Viciedo, DH
5. Adam Dunn, 1B
6. Jeff Keppinger, 3B
7. Casper Wells, LF
8. Tyler Flowers, C
9. Tyler Greene, 2B

Pitching: RHP Hector Santiago

Twins (17-17)

1. Brian Dozier, 2B
2. Joe Mauer, C
3. Josh Willingham, LF
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Ryan Doumit, DH
6. Trevor Plouffe, 3B
7. Oswaldo Arcia, RF
8. Aaron Hicks, CF
9. Pedro Florimon, SS

Pitching: LHP Pedro Hernandez