Wednesday night's pitcher's duel resulted in a 2-1 Twins loss, with Ichiro Suzuki driving in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th off Jose Mijares. Cliff Lee pitched eight strong innings, but Kevin Slowey was also solid over seven, allowing just a run on five hits with a walk and three strikeouts. The team will look to Carl Pavano tonight for a series split against fellow right-hander Felix Hernandez. Pavano is 1-0 with a 3.46 ERA in two career starts against the Mariners, having some trouble with Chone Figgins, historically. Also, Ichiro hit a bomb off him once.
Hernandez is 3-3 with a 2.77 ERA in nine career starts against the Twins. Joe Mauer is 10-for-19 lifetime with two home runs and six RBI while Jim Thome is batting .600 with three taters off him. Justin Morneau, who is crushing the stats this year, also went deep off King Felix one time.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this series and yesterday in general...
- Did you grow up playing Ken Griffey Jr. video games?
- Did your heart break for Armando Galarraga, even though he pitches for the enemy?
- Speaking of, what are your thoughts on instant replay in baseball?
- Did Michael Cuddyer's homer seem extra special last night considering his grief?
- Forgot to mention this yesterday: how awesome is it that Target Field has already reached one million in paid attendance?
