April was not as kind to Kevin Correia in 2014 as it was in 2013. In 2013, Correia was 3-1 in April, with a 2.23 ERA in 36.1 innings over five starts. Yes, remember? Kevin freaking Correia had five quality starts in five opportunities, and none of them were of the cheap "three runs, six hits" variety, either.
The April ERA was 5.10 runs higher this season, but now - and you "may" have noticed - it's not April anymore. And today, Correia played stopper by allowing one measly run in seven innings. He struck out three and didn't walk a soul, scattering five hits en route to his five victory of the season.
Brian Dozier and Joe Mauer homered to help lift Correia and the Twins. Dozier's eighth homer of the season came in the bottom of the third, and his solo shot broke the tie and put the Twins on top, 2-1. Mauer's homer came with runners on the corners with nobody out in the seventh and the Twins leading 3-1, loftting Brad Bach's fastball over the left field wall for a three-run blast.
Casey Fien and Jared Burton combined for a pair of scoreless innings. It was one of the more painless games the Twins have had this season, in spite of the fact that the team only tallied one walk all afternoon. Minnesota walked away with this game, toppling Baltimore by a final score of 6-1.
Notes
- As Aaron Gleeman notes, since going 0-for-10 to start the season, Joe Mauer is hitting .327 ever since. That includes hitting .375 in his last ten games. Good lord people, have you not learned that you shouldn't count Joe Mauer out? Ever? I mean, literally, ever?
- With a pair of hits today, Kurt Suzuki (of all people) continues to be a catalyst at the bottom of the batting order. He's hitting .286 so far this season, with a .369 on-base percentage.
- I noted earlier that the Twins only walked once today, but on the other hand they were also 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
- Pedro Florimon can no longer be considered a Twins regular, but he did get a hit today and also stole his fifth base of the season.
- Brian Dozier is faster than you think he is.
ROLL CALL!
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