Saturday New and Notes

If you decided to take a break from baseball, Saturday was not the day to do it.

The day started with breaking news (which broke on The Twin-Keys Show. We had Seth Stohs and Jack Steal on when the news broke.)that Jose Mijares would be going down to the DL. The Twins recall Alex Burnett who was optioned down to Rochester on Wednesday(Burnett has yet to throw a pitch at Rochester this season).

(AP)

The next event of the day was the Twins game. Nick Blackburn, starter, struggled early going only five innings and giving up five earned. The bright spot of the day was the homer by Orlando Hudson. Jon Rauch came in to close the game out. Despite giving up a leadoff single, Rauch gets the save and retains his title as Saves leader in the MLB with six saves.

How often do you see a game go seven hours? Well that was the case yesterday afternoon/ last night. We saw two positional players come into pitch and Kyle Lohse play left field. This game is an instant classic. It took 652 pitches for the Mets to win in 20 innings by a score of 2-1. The last game to go this long was on April 17, 2008 (interesting?) where Rockies came out ontop of the Padres 2-1.

In a much shorter game, the Rockies' Ubaldo Jiménez threw the first no-hitter in Rockies history. Jiménez threw out of the stretch and was still throwing strong in the 9th inning with his fastball being clocked at 95. Jiménez becomes the first player to throw a no-hitter with a first name starting with U. It is also the first no-hitter in Major League history to have a balk in it.

Feel free to email me at dwthegreat@hotmail.com

Under the Lights

The Twins will play their first game under the lights tonight when they play Kansas City.
Here are the lineups for tonight.

David DeJesus - RF
Scott Podsednik - LF
Billy Butler - 1B
Jose Guillen - DH
Rick Ankiel - CF
Alberto Callaspo - 3B
Jason Kendall - C
Yuniesky Betancourt - SS
Chris Getz - 2B

Starting Pitcher: RHP Zack Greinke

Span - CF
Hudson - 2B
Mauer - C
Morneau - 1B
Kubel - DH
Cuddyer - RF
Young - LF
Hardy - SS
Harris - 3B

Starting Pitcher: RHP Scott Baker


Keys to the game

Key 1: Patience
When one wise Chinese Proverb says " Patience is a virtue", they must have been referring to Zack Greinke. If the Twins are going to tonight, they need to take pitches, extending not only the inning but also the pitch count. The AL Cy Young winner had a rough last outing giving up four earn through six and two-thirds innings.

Key 2: The Little Things
The need to capitalize on the weak throwing arm of Jason Kendall. This will help move runner into scoring position. The Twins will need men to get runners on and advance them. Small ball could help win this game if that bats don't get going right away.

Make sure to check out my podcast tomorrow morning at 10 Central. We will have Seth Stohs of sethspeaks.net , Jack Steal of Fanaticjacktalkstwins.blogspot.com , Thrylos98 of tenthinningstretch.blogspot.com and Jim Mandelaro who is a beat writer for the Rochester Redwings.

Feel free to email me at dwthegreat@hotmail.com

Twin-Keys Behind the Name / April 11-Game 3

In mid-Febuary, while I was thinking for a name for my blog, Twin-Keys came to mind. I felt the name was clever because it not only involved the nickname for the Twins, Twinkies , but also allowed me to do the Keys for the Twins to win, thus Twin-Keys. This post will mainly be about the Keys to a sweep versus the Chicago White Sox.

Minnesota
Span, CF
Hudson, O, 2B
Mauer, C
Morneau, 1B
Cuddyer, RF
Young, D, LF
Hardy, SS
Harris, B, DH
Punto, 3B
Blackburn, RHP

Chicago
Pierre, LF
Beckham, 2B
Quentin, RF
Konerko, 1B
Kotsay, DH
Rios, CF
Pierzynski, C
A. Ramirez, SS
Teahen, 3B
Buehrle, LHP

Key 1- Bulpen

It is no surprise that the bullpen is the key to this game. In order for the Twins to win, the Twins need to get into the bullpen. After two extra-innings, the White Sox bullpen is exhausted.

Key 2- Starting Pitching

If the Twins want to win, Nick Blackburn needs to get the team off to a good start. Blackburn is his last outing went 6 2/3 innings while allowing only three runs. Blackburn needs to throw first-pitch strikes. When doing this opponennts bat .280 against, and it get significantly lower with a 0-2 count, .220.

Key 3- Situational Hitting

In low scoring games, every run matters. That is what the Twins have been faced with these past two games. The "bunt to get the runner over" or "hitting to the right side" could be the difference maker in this game. Pay close attention to both teams and how they advance runner

On a side note, the Twins have the best record in baseball. Let's hope they continue this today as the Tigers are not far behind.

Podcast Tonight

We will have a special podcast tonight at 7PM. We will have on Twins Pitching Prospects BJ Hermsen and Bruce Pugh. We will also have guest bloggers Kirsten Brown and Nick Nelson on.

Be sure to tune in!

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dwthegreat/2010/04/08/opening-week