Perkins Delivers

Yet again, after two of the Twins much more-heralded starters had particularly bad outings, Glen Perkins came through with a great performance but did not earn the win. This time, at least, the Twins claimed victory, though only after working a little overtime. Perkins brought a 2-1 lead into the eighth inning but he allowed the tying run which pushed his season ERA to 1.69. However, his GB% (62 to 56, MLB average is 76) has dropped from last year through these two starts, while he has yet to allow a home run. This trend is unlikely to continue, so Perkins will need to start inducing more ground balls or he'll probably see a large rise in his ERA.

After writing about using Joe Nathan more in non-save situations, it seems as if Ron Gardenhire has listened. Nathan pitched the ninth inning yesterday, despite the fact that the game was tied at two, and he therefore had no opportunity for a save. Of course, I still feel like he should have also pitched the tenth since he threw only twelve pitches--I'll refrain from quibbling, though, seeing as how it was a very encouraging move.

The 11 innings may not ever have been necessary had the Twins been able to push across a run or few in a golden opportunity in the sixth inning. With the bases loaded and nobody out, the Twins plated zero runs due to a Michael Cuddyer strikeout and Joe Crede double play. Crede would later make amends with the game-winning double, but Cuddyer finished the game 0-5.

And I can't write a post about this game without mentioning Jesse Crain's performance. He pitched both extra innings and allowed no baserunners, while striking out two. The second strikeout, of Adam Lind, was an epic 12-pitch at bat that ended the eleventh inning. It's too bad Perkins was so good today, because Crain (as a reliever) doesn't have many chances to snatch a game ball and this would have earned it on a number of days.

Was that Livan Hernandez?

Kevin Slowey was utterly ineffective, at best, last night. His performance reminded me very much of Livan Hernandez last year--he allowed 13 (!) hits in just 5 1/3 innings, and also walked one to go along with just two strikeouts. He also gave up five runs, which makes his box score look eerily similar to one I'd expect from Hernandez. Of course, Slowey will certainly not be as bad as Hernandez, but after two lousy starts I'm concerned that he won't match my expectations, which I would describe as lofty. I took him in both of my fantasy leagues, so I've got three reasons to be rooting for him to turn it around.

The offense was pretty good, although it (or, more accurately, Delmon Young) failed to come through in some key situations. I actually like Young and think he should be given a chance, but it's hard for me to keep that stance with the way he's been playing so far this year. Despite already hitting a home run, he currently holds a .158 average and .474 OPS. Most disconcerting, though, is that he has 7 strikeous and zero walks in 19 plate appearances. I really am rooting for Young, but his slow start, especially with no improvement in his deficient areas from last year, worries me.

Now, that got me sidetracked. Today, specifically, Young came up twice with no outs and a runner in scoring position. In the fourth inning, with Brian Buscher on third, he struck out. In the eighth inning, with Brendan Harris on second, he struck out. In both cases, the next two batters also didn't get the job done (in fact only one even put the ball in play), but Young has to execute in those situations; simply poking the ball somewhere will at least make the infielder think and maybe make a mistake, and with a drawn-in infield it could easily result in a hit.

All in all, the Blue Jays amassed 19 hits in their victory, which is actually more than the Rays had in their 15-5 victory over the Yankees. You'll see periodic notes about the Yankees throughout the season due to my dislike of them. In this case, it's about someone who drafted Chien-Ming Wang in one of my fantasy leagues and bragged about him being the best sleeper of the draft. His ERA is now 28.93.