Pregame
From the Sox Series Preview:
Gavin Floyd: At just 25, Floyd is in his fifth year in the big leagues, and suffice it to say this is the knid of season everyone's been expecting him to have. The biggest reason for his success is the drastic reduction in his home run rates. Only 11.6% of his fly balls have been home runs this season, which isn't great, but it's much better than his 17.7% mark in '07 or his 19.7% mark in '06. As a result he's been able to limit his damage this season, without getting more strikeouts, fewer walks or more ground balls. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that his FIP and xFIP are well more than one full run higher than his ERA of 3.57, indicating that he's A) been lucky on balls in play and B) is likely to regress hard to the mean. We'll see how he does on Tuesday, but it should be noted that in three starts versus the Twins this year he's done very well: 21.1 IP, 12 H, 2 HR, 6 R, 7 BB, 14 K.
For the Twins it's the 10-game winner Livan Hernandez. He's averaging more than six innings a start and leading Minnesota pitchers with 135.2 innings pitched, and no doubt there's some value in the role he's played. In the mean time, most fans think of him as "the guy who's taking Fransico Liriano's roster spot", and after another rough start five days ago not much is changing on that front. He allowed four runs in the first and another in the second, putting his team in an early 5-0 hole which was more than enough for the surging Cliff Lee. Only a shaky Cleveland bullpen and a Justin Morneau 2-run blast made the game as close as it was. In reality, even though Livan went all eight innings in the contest, 12 hits and three walks usually won't get the job done. It seems like a crap shoot every time he takes the hill, because even though we all know he can go the distance, it's what happens to all those batted balls that will tell the story. Hernandez needs luck, a lot of ground balls, and probably two or three great defensive plays to be effective tonight. Godspeed, Mr. Hernandez, and good luck.
For the Twins lineup tonight, they're facing their only right-handed starting pitcher of the series. Gardenhire will likely keep Nick Punto in the lineup and slide him over to second base, while both Jason Kubel and Craig Monroe do well versus RHP and should get nods. I'll be surprised if Adam Everett gets benched tonight in favor of Brendan Harris. Predicted Lineup: Span (CF), Punto (2B), Mauer (C), Morneau (1B), Young (LF), Kubel (RF), Monroe (DH), Buscher (3B), Everett (SS)