Indians 3, Twins 1: Offense Can't Overcome Duensing's One Mistake

Brian Duensing was pretty good last night. He struck out nine Indians over six and two-thirds, and the only runs Cleveland managed came from Asdrubal Cabrera's three-run homer in the bottom of the third. But, as we've come to expect, the Minnesota offense was useless.

The Twins managed just five hits on the night, none after the seventh inning in a close contest, and Delmon Young's RBI was the lone run of the game. That run came in the seventh, which was also the only frame where Minnesota managed more than one base runner. Which probably isn't a surprise considering I just mentioned those five hits, but of course they only walked once, too.

Watching this team on a nightly basis is like a daily affirmation that your favorite baseball team is terrible. We're not used to this. Let's hope we don't have to get used to this.

Notes

• It's great to have Justin Morneau back in the lineup. He hasn't looked fantastic, which is to be expected, but he forced the issue on that double last night. The Twins needed a catalyst, and when the ball snuck past Matt LaPorta's glove at first base Morneau dug for two. It paid off when he scored off Young's flair single.
• The relievers did good work last night. Alex Burnett, Phil Dumatrait and Matt Capps are essentially the B-Squad to Joe Nathan and Glen Perkins, but they got the job done on Saturday.
• With a single yesterday, Tsuyoshi Nishioka is riding a nine-game hitting streak and has raised his batting average from .206 to .226. Baby steps, but at least he's moving in the right direction. He's hitting .322 in those nine games, but he hasn't drawn a walk since July 14. That's a month ago.
• Jim Thome hasn't hit home run number 599 yet. Don't worry, people! We're counting, and we're waiting on baited breath!
• The Twins could, technically, win today. Which would be nice.

Studs

Duensing, Burnett, Dumatrait, Capps

Duds

The offense