The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Twins Get Revenge on White Sox, 12-5

One game after the bullpen gave one away to the Chicago White Sox, the Minnesota Twins' bats got their revenge, torching the Sox, 12-5.

The first five Twins reached base, though Carlos Gomez was picked off, and the Twins took the early lead. Baker breezed through his first two innings and it was looking like another game where a big hit would swing the game.

White Sox Pitcher, John Danks, made that big hit unnecessary. He once again loaded the bases before getting Delmon Young to strike out. Jason Kubel worked a full count, then lacing a single for his second RBI of the night.

Craig Monroe drew a walk and that was the all of Danks.

He left with the bases loaded and ended up with a line of: 2.1IP, 7H, 7ER, 3BB, 2K. The Sox threatened in the bottom of the 5th, but they never did overcome his bad outing.

Danks had a pair of rough outings against the Twins last year, so seeing him struggle again tonight wasn't much of a surprise. He did have a strong first outing of the year, though.

Danks' reputation as the Sox's pitcher of the future is all but gone at this point, unless he can actually give the Sox a viable 3rd starter with consistently solid outings. 

Scott Baker, himself once billed as a pitcher of the future, was the beneficiary of the Twins' offensive outburst. He was effective and limited his damage well, allowing only six base runners in his five innings of work, while striking out seven.

Baker did get into some trouble with the home run; it isn't often that a Twins pitcher can give up three bombs and still maintain a four run lead. Nevertheless, when he needed to make pitches, Baker made them effectively. He got Jim Thome and Paul Konerko to ground out with two on in the bottom of the fifth.

Both sides were no doubt aware that the lead was now in slam territory, such that one swing of the bat would make or break the game. Even after the Twins' big inning, the Sox weren't  out of it.

And as on Monday, the big hit did come, but this time it came off a Twin's bat.

The key at bat in the game came when Nick Masset faced Delmon Young. Until this point, Young hadn't drawn a walk all season. Masset worked ahead 0-2, but Delmon showed a great amount of discipline, fouling off a few pitches and letting a few in the dirt go by.

Young's walk was key for two reasons. First, it shook Masset's confidence in losing Young after being up 0-2. Second, it showed that Delmon is becoming more plate aware which is a very good sign for the rest of the season.

With the bases now loaded, Jason Kubel needed only 1 pitch ice the game, parking a 92 MPH fastball in the left field seats. The Twins added another run before Masset could stop the bleeding. In a series known for its dramatic moments, both teams have now put games away with later inning Grand Slams.

The tone for the year has been set, and we're only in April.

It seems almost cruel to do this after such a great win, but it wasn't perfect, so:  

The Good: Jason Kubel: 2-4, R, 6RBI, HR. Hopefully this will win him more playing time!

Carlos Gomez's Defense (Torri who?).

Brendan Harris: 3-4, 3R, 2B.

The Bad: Scott Baker 5IP, 5H, 3ER, 1BB, 7K, 3HR.

Baker was dealing early, but had trouble getting through the order a second time. Those home runs proved to be nothing but stat padding for the hitters, but its a rare game when the Twins can survive a starter giving up three homers. I'm very willing to accept the cold as a reason for Baker's (and to a limited extent Danks') struggles.

The Ugly: The Twins IF: 3 Errors on the night. Lamb had his first of the season and Harris had two on the night.

Like the homers, they proved to be more or less irrelevant. But with the Twins young staff, nights like this had better be few and far between.

Lamb also left late in the game after fouling a ball off his ankle. He's day-to-day, but he went down hard and stayed there, so don't be too surprised if Matt Tolbert is in the line-up in his place tomorrow. Morneau also left with flu like symptoms.  It was a rough night all around the IF.