Twins Drop Another Close One
By Hayden Kane
In a sweep of the Cleveland Indians over the weekend it appeared that the Twins offense could not be stopped. Everybody got in on the act, from Denard Span to Ryan Doumit to Ben Revere to the diminutive Alexi Casilla. That offensive prowess waned in the final two games of their series this week with the Chicago White Sox, ending with a 3-2 loss at Target Field this afternoon.
Scott Diamond delivered yet another shining performance (see what I did there?). He pitched deep into the game, going 7.1 innings and not walking a single batter yet again. In short, it was a gem (nailed it!). Unfortunately for the Twins he was out-dueled by White Sox stud Jake Peavy, who went 8 innings and struck out 8. Alejandro De Aza made Diamond’s defeat doubly painful, driving in the go-ahead run by drilling him in the thigh. It was a slight imperfection on his day, yet still enough of a blemish to ruin things for Diamond (seriously, I’m in the zone).
Nevertheless, Diamond continues to be the blueprint for the perfect Twins pitcher. Lots of strikes, lots of contact, not a lot of K’s, and a whole lot of efficient outs. Sometimes this results in a stretch of tedious games where the pitcher battles to get through the 6th inning, surrendering 4 or 5 runs. On the other hand, sometimes this style of pitching results in hot streaks where the pitcher dominates his opponent. Diamond is currently enjoying one such stretch. Just remember, these games do not make it a good idea to enter next season with Diamond as the staff ace. Seriously. Nobody will like it if that is the case next April.
The Twins managed 6 hits in the game, including continued production from Span and Revere at the top of the lineup. Also, Danny Valencia hit a home run. Even if you won today, Jake Peavy, just remember: you surrendered a home run to Danny Valencia. Joke’s on you, bro.
Addison Reed registered the save for the White Sox, proving that anybody who serves as a closer in professional baseball has to either have a goofy name (Heath Bell, Addison Reed, John Axford) or a goofy personality (Brian Wilson, Jonathan Papelbon).
The Twins move from a well-hyped series with the White Sox to a hype machine in Boston. They will play 4 games in Fenway over the weekend. Let’s hope that the Twins can win 3 of 4 and cause some good ol’ meltdowns…Red Sox style.