The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Kansas City Scoreless Streak Goes to 18 Innings

In the last few years, headlines like this usually open articles that bemoan the sordid state of the Minnesota Twins offense.

Not this one.

The Twins' staff, led by Boof Bonser, shut out the Kansas City Royals for the second game in a row, getting the Twins above .500 for the first time since they were 1-0.

Bonser didn't allow a hit in his first 4.1 innings, and even after Ross Gload broke up the no-hitter, he stayed sharp.

The starting pitcher did well in staying ahead of the Royals' hitters all night, allowing only five base runners in his six innings and fixing the problem he had when he faced the Royals previously.

It's a good thing that the staff was on its game, because the offense was not even close.

Jason Kubel sent his third home run of the year just over the wall in right field and that proved to be enough. The Twins would add one more run, but squandered a few chances to add to the lead.

Matt Guerrier, Pat Neshek, and Joe Nathan locked the game down after Bonser left in the seventh. They struck out three and spread two hits over their three combined innings. The Twins have won both of their early season series with the Royals.

They will send Francisco Liriano to the mound tomorrow afternoon to try for the sweep. It will be Liriano's first start since the end of 2006; hopefully the bats will show up tomorrow in the way they didn't tonight.

The Good

Bonser: 6IP, 3H, 2BB, 4K, QS

Jason Kubel: 2-4, 2R, RBI, HR

The Bad

Delmon Young 1-4, CS

He's fortunate to make it this high, since...

The Ugly

Hitters 1-4: 0-17, 3K

When the top four hitters—some of the Twin's most consistent sluggers—can barely get on base (Justin Morneau reached on an error) it is usually hard to win. Thankfully the 6-9 hitters went 8-15 with both runs scored and both RBI.