The Twins missed an opportunity to take advantage of a young pitcher on Friday. Will they be up the task against a veteran in the middle of a nice roll?
Nationals righthander Jordan Zimmerman just had a 24.1 scoreless inning streak snapped on Monday, but he has been everything the Tigers wanted when they signed him as a free agent during the offseason. He's given up one earned run for a 0.35 ERA this year.
If the Twins are going to climb back to relevancy, they will need to beat pitchers like Zimmerman. Twins righthander Tyler Duffey will have to pitch like he did in September. The offense, 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position last night, must cash in on scoring opportunities.
Keep this in mind. The Twins are 7-16. If they play 70-69 ball the rest of the way, they will finish 77-85. For them to get back to around .500, they have to win series and sweep when they can. Games like today, the day after losing the previous night, are important in that regard.
Ian Kinsler, 2B
J.D. Martinez, RF
Miguel Cabrera, 1B
Victor Martinez, DH
Justin Upton, LF
Nick Castellanos, 3B
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Anthony Cox, CF
Jose Iglesisas, SS
Jordan Zimmerman, RHP
Twins
Danny Santana, CF
Brian Dozier, 2B
Joe Mauer, DH
Miguel Sano,. RF
Byung Ho Park, 1B
Eduardo Escobar, SS
Eduardo Nunez, 3B
Eddie Rosario, LF
John Ryan Murphy, C
