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| Nick Blackburn was solid for his second consecutive start on Tuesday, but watched his bullpen blow his win. He allowed just two runs on six hits in 6.2 innings against the Boston Red Sox. |
Our View: Blackburn has been somewhat inconsistent and it seems just as he's getting it together, he gets shelled his next start. Be wary of picking him up. |
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| Francisco Liriano is 6-0 with a 3.37 ERA and a 45:9 K:BB ratio over 42.2 innings since June 1. "It's a great feeling now because everything is working," Liriano told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. "I think I'm close to where I need to be. I just need to continue doing what I'm doing right now." |
Our View: Liriano would be pitching for other teams, but the Twins have little use for him right now. Their starters have been lights out and the team is on a roll. Still expect to see him in majors before the end of the season. If he's on your waiver wire at the All-Star break, you should pick him up. |
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| According to MLB.com, Michael Cuddyer is eligible to return to action on Sunday but a return then seems highly unlikely. He isn't even close to being sent down on a rehab assignment, so a target date for his return is not yet available.
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Our View: Tendons can be a tricky thing, so don't count on Cuddyer to return before the All-Star break. When he does return, let's hope his production increases. |
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| Alexi Casilla extended his hitting streak to a career-best 14 games with an eighth-inning bunt single. |
Our View: Casilla's .320 batting average dropped a couple points (.318) in his one-hit effort of a one-run loss to the Red Sox on Monday night. |
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| Brian Buscher is penciled in to make another start for the Twins at third base tonight, and will be looking to extend his hitting streak to five games, according to the Boston Globe. |
Our View: He is hitting .333 over 66 at-bats for the season, and has also recorded an RBI in each of his last two games. He is worth starting in AL-only leagues while he is hot. |
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| Glen Perkins earned his fifth win of the season over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday. He scattered seven hits and one walk while giving up three earned runs on the day. |
Our View: He has three wins in his last four starts. He's not a force in fantasy leagues and is probably a free agent in most, however, he is worth keeping an eye on as the Twins have played excellently over the past month. |
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| Kevin Slowey wasn't anywhere near his best on Saturday but he still held on long enough to pick up his sixth win of the year. Slowey had six strikeouts in the effort, but he gave up five runs in six innings on the hill. |
Our View: Slowey has won his last four decisions and four of his last five starts. Over his last four outings, he has 20 K, four BB with a 2.00 ERA. |
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| Joe Mauer walked three times, scored three runs and hit his fourth home run of the year for the Twins. |
Our View: Mauer has pushed his average up to .325 while he has managed to scored 54 runs thank to a OBP above .410. The power may not be ideal, but it's tough to complain about anything this guy is doing right now. |
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| Brendan Harris will start at third base on Saturday for the Twins, according to the Star Tribune. |
Our View: Harris has been taking grounders at third base for a couple of days as looks to continue to add versatility to his game. |
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| Alexi Casilla may be back in the lineup on Saturday. He missed Friday's contest due to a sore left middle finger. "Halfway through the game, his finger was feeling great," manager Ron Gardenhire tells the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "Hopefully he'll be back out there [today], and we can move guys around again." |
Our View: Hopefully this minor malady doesn't cool off Casilla's bat. He has been a wonderful fantasy pick-up through his 43 games, but we're wary about him possibly playing over his head. |
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| Delmon Young went 3-for-5 with four RBI in Friday's 12-3 bashing of the Indians. Most of his damage came on a three-run homer, his third of the season. |
Our View: Young is hot as he has recorded three hits in back-to-back games, and has homered in two of his last five outings. He raised his average a few more points to .289. |
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| Livan Hernandez gave up three earned runs on five hits over six innings in Friday's 12-3 win over the division rival Indians at home, with three walks and four strikeouts. He allowed two homers, one to Kelly Shoppach and the other to Ben Francisco. |
Our View: Hernandez improves to 9-5, and is 3-1 over his last four starts. |
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| Alexi Casilla was scratched from Friday's lineup due to soreness in his left middle finger, according to the Star Tribune. |
Our View: Casilla iced the ailing finger five or six times on Thursday's off day. But he woke up Friday to more swelling and had trouble getting the finger loose prior to the game. Nick Punto covered second base tonight, and Brendan Harris roamed shortstop.
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| According to the St Paul Pioneer Press, Michael Cuddyers hand injury is a sprained knuckle, and the Twins outfielder expects to return from the disabled list when he is eligible (July 12). That's two days before the Twins' four-day all-star break. |
Our View: Don't expect Cuddyer to return until after the All Star break. |
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| Nick Blackburn did something on Wednesday night that he wasn't able to do in his previous start, keep the ball in the park. The right-handed Twins starter pitches to contact. He allowed but three hits, walking one and striking out four in earning his seven win of the year. |
Our View: However, Blackburn still didn't induce enough ground balls to sustain productive starts. He allowed eight fly balls and forced the Tigers to the ground on another eight. Any improvement in his GB percentage will make Blackburn successful and attractive in most formats. |
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| Minnesota Delmon Young Delmon Young was doing his part in today's 7-0 win over the Tigers, going 3-for-4 at the dish with two doubles on the day, finishing with one RBI and one runs scored. |
Our View: Young hit .321 last month with two homers and 13 RBIs and hopes to keep the good vibes going with more performances like this. |
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| The Twins put the 7-0 whooping on the Tigers today, led by the bat of catcher Joe Mauer , going 2-for-4 at the plate with one walk, two RBIs, and one run scored on the day. |
Our View: Mauer has been as hot at the plate as expected, coming off a June performance hitting .341 on the month with 14 walks versus just seven strikeouts.
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| Nick Blackburn combined with two Twins' relievers to complete a five-hit shutout as the Minnesota Twins defeated the Detroit Tigers 7-0 on Wednesday.
Blackburn allowed three hits, walked one and struck out four in seven innings. Jesse Crain allowed two hits in the eighth, and Boof Bonser pitched a 1-2-3 ninth. |
Our View: Blackburn was bombed in his last start and has been increasingly generous with flyballs in his last few starts. This was a nice bounce back effort over a good hitting Tigers lineup. |
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| The Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune reports that an MRI on Michael Cuddyer's left hand revealed a sprained knuckle on his index finger. |
Our View: This appears to be good news and the Twins expect to activate him over the All-Star break. |
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| Detroit manager Jim Leyland is convinced Twins left-hander Glen Perkins intentionally threw at Carlos Guillen during the first inning of Monday night's game in Minnesota, this according to the Star Tribune . "We thought Guillen had been thrown at," Leyland said. "Only we threw ours low, and they threw theirs high -- right at a guy's head -- and it went all the way to the backstop on the fly. So that's my message. |
Our View: When a guy is 4-for-5 (home run and two doubles) off a pitcher and that hitters gets one high and tight at the head -- chances are a message is being sent. Perkins told reporters after the game that he didn't realize how close the pitch came to Guillen's head until after he saw replays. |
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| Minnesota RHP Scott Baker showed well in support of the 6-4 win over the Tigers, pitching six innings to allow three runs on seven hits with no walks and five strikeouts. |
Our View: Baker came out of June with consecutive wins and keeps the tide rolling this evening. He has allowed just seven total earned runs over 18 innings of work during that span, touting three walks versus 15 strikeouts. |
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| The Minnesota Twins had more than enought offense flowing tonight, but the Tigers gave chase and made it interesting with the Twins emerging 6-4. The charge was led by designated hitter Craig Monroe , going 2-for-3 with one walk and his eighth homer of the season to total three RBIs and one run scored. |
Our View: Monroe suffered through an injury-plagued and frustrating month of June, hitting just .125 with two home runs and five RBIs. The hope is to get back on track and tonight gets him moving in the right direction. |
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| Joe Mauer will sit in favor of Mike Redmond at catcher against the Tigers tonight, according to the Star Tribune. Redmond is penciled in to bat third in the order. |
Our View: Mauer went 2-for-4 with two RBI on Monday against Detroit, but manager Ron Gardenhire felt he could use a game off. Adjust your lineups accordingly. |
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| Francisco Liriano improved to 5-2 on Monday night by holding Lehigh Valley to zero runs in seven innings of work to bump his record to 5-2, according to MILB.com. Even more impressive than the seven shutout innings was the fact that he struck out nine while walking only one batter. |
Our View: Liriano has continued to struggle with his control and had given up 10 earned runs in his previous two outing (10.1 IP). This latest start might signal that he has turned the corner and put himself in a position to be recalled to join the big league club. |
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