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Checking on Twins' important numbers

There's a terrible number in here

May 15, 2014 at 5:31PM

Still reeling with a hockey hangover, I'm at the Twins' game today at Target Field.

The season will be close to one-quarter finished by the end of the day, so it's getting to the time of year where statistical standards are more than just flukish.

So...

The Twins rank fifth in the American League in runs scored. That's pretty good for a rebuilding team with a patchwork lineup. The concern is that the Twins may have already gotten the best offensive performances they're going to get from Chris Colabello, Jason Kubel, Kurt Suzuki and Trevor Plouffe.

The bullpen ERA of 3.59 ranks sixth in the American League, consistent with the belief that this is a strong bullpen when given a reasonable workload.

Here's what's worrisome: After spending all that money on two free-agent pitchers, and getting a few dominant outings out of Kyle Gibson, the best young pitcher in the current rotation, the Twins still entered Thursday's game with a league-worst 5.45 starting pitching ERA.

So in the Twins' pursuit of competence, they need to find a way to sustain their offensive performance (not likely) while improving the performance of their starting pitching. The latter is a necessity if the Twins are going to avoid losing 90 games again this year.

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Simeon Woods Richardson, promoted from Class AAA to make the start, gave up seven runs in his 4⅔ innings, and the bullpen added to the trend.

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