(via Fangraphs)

Fetch is too lazy to do the recaps laying in a ditch somewhere out of town this weekend, so you are stuck with me until Monday. The best thing to come out of this game is probably the news that Orlando Hudson told Ron Gardenhire he should be ready to return on Tuesday. Oh, and Nick Blackburn was pretty good, too. Too bad he didn’t get the win. The Twins lost this one on a perfectly-executed squeeze bunt by Brooks Conrad. No, that isn’t quite true. They lost because they scored two measly runs off of Derek Lowe.

Best hitter: Joe Mauer, .085 WPA. Man Muscles went 1-3 with a walk, and that technically makes him the best hitter in this game.

Worst hitter: Jason Kubel, -.161 WPA. Striking out with the bases loaded in a tie game does not do wonders for one’s win probability added.

Best pitcher: Nick Blackburn, .180 WPA. Blackbeard had a very Blackbeardian start: scattering six hits over seven innings, striking out five while walking only two and giving up a couple of runs.

Worst pitcher: Jose Mijares. I’m not going to look at WPA. Any pitcher who does not realize one needs to AT LEAST GET THE FREAKING OUT AT FIRST BASE DURING A SQUEEZE PLAY is automatically the worst pitcher of the game. Plus he gave up the winning run.

Most important play of the game: Actually, there were three plays in this game with the same 1.00 WPA: Melky Cabrera’s solo homer to tie the game, Brooks Conrad’s RBI double that allowed the Braves to take a 2-1 lead, and then Joe Mauer’s RBI double to (briefly) re-tie the game.

The happiest moment of my entire childhood

A rematch of the greatest world series of all time, though with considerably less at stake. The Braves got off to a slow start this year, winning just nine games in all of April, but after winning 12 of their past 16 games, are now leading their division by 2.5 games. Of course, the big story of the year has been likely ROY Jason Heyward. Heyward was one of the top prospects in the Braves’ system and has been every bit as good as advertised: batting .272/.398/.505 with a .393 wOBA, .233 ISO, and providing above-average defense in the outfield. Oh yeah, the Braves also dealt away Javier Vazquez during the offseason, since their starting rotation was pretty strong and they didn’t really want to pay the $11.5 million left on his contract (also, I’m guessing they couldn’t find any takers for Derek Lowe). The trade looked like a win for the Yankees at the time, but now it kind of looks like a wash. Anyway, for more on the Braves and the series, check out Tomahawk Take.

Probable ptichers:

Friday, June 11:

Tim Hudson: 2.44 ERA, 4.44 xFIP, 1.17 K/BB, 3.97 tERA. It’s the matchup of former greatest-pitchers-in-the-AL looking to recapture their pre-Tommy John glory. Hudson is quite a bit older than Liriano and his chances of returning to his previous form are pretty long, but he’s been a useful pitcher since returning last year. The Braves organization hopes the 35 year-old Hudson will continue being useful for the next three years.

vs.

Francisco Liriano: 3.10 ERA, 3.13 xFIP, 3.62 K/BB, 2.46 tERA. I’ve said my piece about F-Bomb here. Oh, and don’t let Hudson’s shiny ERA and 6-1 record fool you: Liriano has been the better pitcher in almost every way this year.

Saturday, June 12:

Derek Lowe: 5.04 ERA, 4.24 xFIP, 1.38 K/BB, 4.38 tERA. This is the battle of two league-average sinkerballers hoping to not get shelled. Lowe is long removed from his days as a 3+ win pitcher, posting a 4.77 ERA since signing with the Braves. I predict a 10-9 Twins win.

vs.

Nick Blackburn: 5.21 ERA, 5.18 xFIP, 1.21 K/BB, 5.11 tERA. Blackburn has the lowest strikeout rate of his entire career, a league-worst 2.27 K/9, so it’s no wonder he’s getting smacked around. Oh, and if you think the Blackburn contract is bad, check out what the Braves are paying Lowe.

Sunday, June, 13:

Kris Medlen: 3.21 ERA, 3.72 xFIP, 4.33 K/BB, 4.41 tERA. Medlen has been pretty lights out in his second season with the Braves. He and Tommy Hanson essentially made Vazquez expendable.

vs.

Kevin Slowey: 3.45 ERA, 4.64 xFIP, 3.27 K/BB, 4.00 tERA. After failing to make it past the fifth inning in all but two starts, Slowey is coming off of back-to-back strong outings. The righty struggled a bit with his control, posting a career-high 2.83 BB/9 rate through the end of May, but it’s now around his career average. We will see how the control artist fares against a lineup currently leading the NL in walks.