Look at this line: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K. 

Allow me to repeat: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K. 

A Twins starter did that.  Brian Duensing did that.  If you saw that coming, quit lying, because you didn't.

While Duensing's start was a welcome change of pace, the Twins' decision to jump to an early 3-0 lead was equally necessary.  Span double, Mauer single, Kubel triple, Cuddyer single, and that was that.  Literally, as it turned out: the Rangers' Tommy Hunter recovered nicely from that rough start and held the Twins scoreless the rest of the way, with an assist from newbie Pedro Strop.

Meanwhile, the Twins' rookie starter took the Rangers' potent lineup to breakfast, lunch, dinner and breakfast, setting down 11 in a row at one point.  Duensing's performance was as unexpected as it was critical to the Twins' playoff hopes.  They remain 4.5 games behind victorious Detroit, but move into sole possession of second, thanks to the Yankees' walk-off victory over the White Sox.

Other highlights:

• Elvis Andrus, you have a cool name, but you don't get to run on Joe Mauer.  Baby Jesus gunned Andrus down at second to save Matt Guerrier's ass in the 8th inning.  (Note: I don't know if I can say "ass" here, but it was a superlative play, so I'm going with it.  Apologies to impressionable children and those with delicate sensibilities.)
  
• Tommy Hunter complained about the mound during the game, so Scott Ullger went out there with a rake and fixed it.  I've seen that in a Legion game before, but not in the majors.
• Joe Nathan made it painfully interesting again, surrendering a double to Ivan Rodriguez and almost giving up a game-tying home run to David Murphy, before getting Chris Davis on a dicey called 3rd strike to end the game.
• The new guys will be here for tomorrow's game.
• Per Gardy's post-game comments, Joe Crede was placed on the 15-day DL, noted menswear designer Armando Gabino was sent back down, Jose Morales is racking up some more frequent flier miles, and the organization will announce their other roster move tomorrow  afternoon.

That was an interesting Friday, wasn't it, kids?  Enjoy your weekend.