It’s the Cubs in town, not the Cardinals, but Paul Molitor expects today’s game to be much like the Twins’ recent four-game, two-city set with St. Louis. The Twins outscored St. Louis 9-8 over four games, today’s pitching matchup offers the promise of another low-scoring, high-tension game.
Kyle Gibson pitches for the Twins, trying to regain the form that he displayed in Mayl, when he went 3-1 with a 1.36. ERA. So far in June, those numbers have been 0-2 and 5.68, so there’s little resemblance between the two months. “He’s just got to trust his stuff,” said Molitor, the Twins’ manager. “His sinker is as good as anybody’s. It’s a tough matchup for him, because these guys have really been swinging it.”
The Cubs will use Jake Arrieta, who doesn’t yet have the reputation he deserves, Molitor said. “He’s really developed into one of the most accomplished starters in the National League,” Molitor said of Arrietta, who owns a 3.40 ERA — plus 89 strikeouts in 82 innings — to go with his 6-5 record so far. “His cutter is probably his best pitch — he can really get it in on lefties.”
After today’s game, the Twins will have only two interleague home games remaining, Sept. 28-29 against the Pirates. Today is also the final game of 13 straight against teams with winning records. The Twins, after losing the first five, have gone 4-8 in this stretch.
It’s Fathers Day, and the Twins’ starting lineup includes the fathers of, by my count, 15 children. Here’s who is playing today:
CUBS
Fowler CF
Rizzo 1B
Bryant 3B
Montero C
Castro SS
Coghlan LF
Denorfia RF
Schwarber DH
Russell 2B
Arrieta RHP
TWINS
Dozier 2B
Rosario LF
Mauer 1B
Plouffe 3B
Hunter RF
Nunez DH
Herrmann C
Escobar SS
Buxton CF
Gibson RHP
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La Velle E. Neal III has covered baseball for the Star Tribune since 1998 (the post-Knoblauch era). Born and raised in Chicago, he grew up following the White Sox and hating the Cubs. He attended both the University of Illinois and Illinois-Chicago and began his baseball writing career at the Kansas City Star. He can be heard occasionally on KFAN radio, lending his great baseball mind to Paul Allen and other hosts.
Phil Miller covered three seasons of Twins baseball, but that was at a different ballpark for a different newspaper. Now Miller returns to the baseball beat after joining the Star Tribune as the Gopher football writer in 2010, and he won't miss the dingy dome for a minute. In addition to the Twins and Gophers, Miller covered the Utah Jazz and the NBA for six years at The Salt Lake Tribune.
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