The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Twins Win Another Series Opener

Carlos Gomez, Scott Baker, and some timely bunting propelled the Twins over the Royals, ending the Royals' hopes of a perfect season. Dan Wade breaks it down.

by Dan Wade (Columnist)

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Game Recap

April 04, 2008

For the last few years, the Twins have lacked a truly exciting player. Nick Punto was fun to watch in 2006, but was the worst hitter in the majors in 2007. Mauer, Morneau, Kubel, Hunter, all guys who can spark the crowd, but did so episodically not consistently. The Staff was exciting: Santana, Liriano, Neshek and Nathan are all great to watch, but can bog down and really slow the game at times.

Enter Carlos Gomez. The 22 year-old reached the Twins via the Johan Santana deal, and fans were told 2 things. 1) The plate discipline is a work in process, but it'll come. 2) He's fast. He's really fast. Jose Reyes, himself fleet of foot (78 steals last year), told reporters that Gomez was even faster than he was, which was promising, but speed only players are rarely game changing guys (see Pierre, Juan).

Fans were upset that the supposed key player wasn't going to get on base all that well or hit for power. Fast Forward a few months into the season. After a few flashes of brilliance in Spring Training, Gomez was handed the starting CF job, and exactly no one outside of the Span or Pridie families is regretting that.

Friday night, Gomez went 3-4 with a double, a run scored and 2 more stolen bases, bringing his total on the year to 4 in only 5 games.

His plate discipline is still a little raw, but that will come as he gets more experience at the major league level. For now, Twins' fans should enjoy seeing a player who can put on a show whenever he's at the plate or on base.

Scott Baker pitched well in his first start of the season, even after a rough start. He gave up three runs in the first two innings, but none after that. He left the game with two outs in the seventh, having given up only 7 hits an no walks. Pat Neshek and Joe Nathan faced just one batter over the minimum as they finished off the Royals' dreams of an undefeated season.

The Good: Carlos Gomez: 3-4, 2B, R, 2SB, and an Outfield Assist. Scott Baker.

The Bad: Michael Cuddyer finally hitting well, but being forced to leave with a dislocated and lacerated finger.

The Ugly: Justin Morneau and Craig Monroe: 1-8 with 4Ks. Monroe is still hitless on the season, while Morneau's RBI single in the third, while timely, remains his only on the season.

Game Recap

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