WhoaMG

Pavano continued to prove his worth by shutting down 8/9 Royals. Too bad they fielded all nine players, as Billy Butler continues to add another finger to the hand of good Kansas City players. Carl did his usual routine, allowing a few singles but limiting walks and mistakes. Except for two. 4 ER in 6 IP is not a good line, but aside from the high-caliber BB gun, the Royals didn't score a run. Carlvano kept the Twins in the game and deserved the win.

Tejada had good stuff. He struck out three and held the Twins to two hits. Yet the Twins strolled to six runs off of him. It was a rare show of patience from the Twins, as every single one of them seemed to have the plan to force Tejada to throw strikes, and he lost that ability in the fifth. I wish the Twins had that plan every night, regardless of the pitcher. Not every pitcher is as wild as Tejada, who is a reliever forced into starting duties, but as exemplified by Nick Punto's offensive turnaround, drawing walks can be a crucial skill. Bert spoke tonight of Nick's new-found ability to foul off tough pitches, forcing the pitcher into something a bit more hittable. It's a skill that could help more than a few players in the Twins' line-up (yes, even Michael Cuddyer), and if Nick Punto at an age 31 can learn it (or rediscover), Delmon Young, Carlos Gomez, and the rest of the Twins can learn it too.

Of course, guys like Cuddy don't need to rely on walks, because he has the power to drive himself home instead of relying on the top of the lineup to do it. The Twins' offense, with the recent hot streaks of Punto, Tolbert, and Young, has become very balanced: able to get on base with the bat or the eye, able to turn singles into doubles on the basepaths, and able to hit homeruns. Delmon pulled the ball for a homerun for what seemed like the first time this year (can anyone confirm this? I can't find such stats). I view that as good progress. I hope his hot streak continues. Of course, drawing a walk would be nice as well.

Two back, and the Twins face "DiNardo" tomorrow. No, Trey Hillman hasn't heard of him either.