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Game 66: Pirates @ Twins

By cmathewson

First Pitch: 7:10 pm CDT
TV: FS North
Radio: Twins Radio Network
Know Thine Enemy Bucs Dugout

Starting Pitchers

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP
2009 - Paul Maholm 4-2 13 13 0 0 0 0 82.1 81 36 33 4 27 50 3.61 1.31

The Twins face the 66th left hander this year, or at least it seems like that. Unlike Sunday's left hander, Maholm doesn't strike out that many guys and he gives up a fair number of hits. So what's the secret to his success? Ground balls. In each of four major league seasons, he's induced ground balls more than 50% of the time. That explains the 4 homers, which creates a FIP of 3.57, the lowest of his career. Let's see how he faces against an American League team.

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP
2009 - Glen Perkins 1-3 8 8 0 0 0 0 47 50 28 28 6 12 26 5.36 1.32

Nobody really knows what to expect from Perkins tonight. He started out like gangbusters, pitching eight good innings in his first three starts. After that, his next five starts were progressively worse until he landed on the DL with a nerve problem in his elbow. Did Gardy push him too hard too early in the season? Probably. Was his elbow bothering him after his first three starts? Probably. Will he be better now that he's healthy? Probably. But we really don't know. We do know he dominated A ball in his last rehab start. But that doesn't mean much. Tonight we'll find out how he responds with a healthy elbow.

Line-ups:

Crede and Cuddyer are back to help balance the line-up against the left hander. Most importantly, we won't see Tolbert flail at the first pitch as the lead-off hittter tonight. That's something to be thankful for. We could also use Crede's defense at third. Tolbert seems fine when he has time to use his speed to get to a ball. But his reactions are just horrible.

PIRATES (30-33)

1. Andrew McCutchen, CF
2. Nyjer Morgan, LF
3. Freddy Sanchez, 2B
4. Adam LaRoche, 1B
5. Craig Monroe, DH
6. Delwyn Young, RF
7. Andy LaRoche, 3B
8. Jason Jaramillo, C
9. Jack Wilson, SS

TWINS (32-33)

1. Brendan Harris, SS
2. Joe Mauer, C
3. Justin Morneau, 1B
4. Joe Crede, 3B
5. Jason Kubel, DH
6. Michael Cuddyer, RF
7. Delmon Young, LF
8. Carlos Gomez, CF
9. Nick Punto, 2B


Poll

Pick to stick tonight?

This poll is closed

  • 6%
    Brendan Harris
    (4 votes)
  • 68%
    Joe Mauer
    (42 votes)
  • 6%
    Justin Morneau
    (4 votes)
  • 0%
    Joe Crede
    (0 votes)
  • 3%
    Jason Kubel
    (2 votes)
  • 4%
    Michael Cudder
    (3 votes)
  • 3%
    Delmon Young
    (2 votes)
  • 4%
    Carlos Gomez
    (3 votes)
  • 1%
    Nick Punto
    (1 vote)
61 votes total Vote Now

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