The Twins Lose 2 out of 3 to Open 2011
Game 1: Friday April 1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|
| Minnesota | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 1 |
| Toronto | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | X | 13 | 12 | 1 |
W: Romero
L: Pavano (0-1)
Boxscore
I wish this boxscore was an April Fool’s joke, but unfortunately the Twins were the ones that looked like fools on Friday.
Despite his strong finish last season and the way he looked in Spring ball, Carl Pavano did not come out firing on all cylinders. Pavano pitched four innings (faced two in the fifth), giving up 8 runs (7 of them earned) on 6 hits and 2 walks. He did manage to strike out 3 batters, but unfortunately he also gave up 2 home runs.
Not that it matters, since the Twins didn’t do much scoring Friday, but Pavano got very little help from the bullpen, either. Manship gamve up 2 runs of his own in the 5th, and Hughes gave up 3 more in the 8th.
The Twins only offense of the day came in the 7th inning as they got back to back to back RBIs from Valencia, Casilla, and Span. The Twins went 2 for 8 with runners in scoring position.
Game 2 : Saturday April 2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|
| Minnesota | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Toronto | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | X | 6 | 11 | 1 |
W: Drabek
L: Liriano (0-1)
Boxscore
Saturday went only slightly better for the Twins as they lost game two by a score of 6 to 1.
Again they had trouble with their starting pitching as Liriano only made it through 4 and a third innings, giving up 4 runs on 4 hits and 5 walks. Francisco couldn’t seem to find the strike zone very consistently. Like Pavano, he did manage to get 3 strike outs in his 4 innings, but also like Pavano he gave up 2 home runs in the process.
Kevin Slowey worked out of the bullpen on Saturday. He did give up one run in 2 and 2/3rds, but later Skipper Ron Gardenhire said it wasn’t really Slowey’s fault… instead it was a miscommunication with the fielders.
Justin Morneau gave the Twins their only run in the game, driving in 2nd basemen Nishioka in the 4th inning.
Game 3: Sunday, April 3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|
| Minnesota | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 2 |
| Toronto | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 2 |
W: Blackburn (1-0)
L: Cecil
S: Nathan (1)
Boxscore
Sunday looked much better for the Twins (and us Twins fans) as the Twins seemed to get on track a little better with both their pitching and hitting. Nick Blackburn took the mound for game 3, pitching 5 and 2/3rds innings, giving up 2 runs (only 1 earned run) on 6 its and 1 walk. He struck out 2 and gave up 1 home run.
Both Danny Valencia and Denard Span hit homers for the Twins. Valencia’s was Minnesota’s first of the year, a 1 run shot in the third inning. Denard Span’s came in the 9th off of former teammate Jon Rauch.
Joe Nathan got his first save of the year, and his first since 2009. His performance made a few fans a bit tense as he gave up 1 run off of 2 hits and two walks, but he managed to get the job done in the end, giving the Twins their first win of the 2009 season.
Post Series Thoughts
Well, it’s a good thing we only have to play the Blue Jays a few times during the season. Minnesota makes Toronto look like a World Series level team lately, and this series was no exception. In three games the Jays took the ball deep 5 times.
Minnesota’s hitting hasn’t seemed to grab on just yet either. Justin Morneau has started the season off at 1 for 10 at the plate, Denard Span is 1 for 12, Danny Valencia is 1 for 10, and Joe Mauer is 1 for 7.
Obviously it’s WAAAAAAAAY too early to read anything into that, but the Twins will not survive many series when these guys aren’t hitting.
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