On the bright side, at least they lost a game in a normal, pedestrian fashion.
Francisco Liriano became the majors' American League's first 10-game loser, giving up three home runs as the Angels dumped the Twins, 6-3. The dagger was Mike Napoli's 3-run, opposite field bomb in the 6th. The loss sent the Twins under .500 and 4 games behind the Central-leading Tigers, who at least had the courtesy to sweep a doubleheader against the White Sox.
Offensively, it was Joe Mauer and eight other guys. Baby Jesus cranked two solo home runs, running his season total to 17. In addition, he fired an absolute bullet to nail Bobby Abreu as he attempted to steal second. Everyone else? Guh. John Lackey had their number most of the evening (7.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER), breaking a sweat only because he's kind of portly and it was hot. Brian Buscher did recover from some bad California rolls to single in a run in the 9th off of something called Kevin Jepsen, but that was about it.
Stars of the game and other observations after the jump.
STARS OF THE GAME:
3. There was no third star of the game.
2. Jesse Crain. No, really. Relieved Liriano in the 6th, stopped the bleeding, and had a 1-2-3 7th. For those of you who bothered watching after the Napoli shot, you were likely left wondering just how many Newcastles you had put away, too (4, for the record).
1. Joe Mauer. Thanks for trying, Joe.
OBSERVATIONS:
- If you haven't already, I recommend checking out FakeBillSmith on Twitter. Sample: "Delmon is fast, isn't he?! If only he'd dive into first sometimes, he might be safe!" Bitter Twins fans of the world, rejoice.
- Robb Quinlan's Minnesota roots were discussed minimally by Dickandbert. Admirable restraint, considering the "He's one of us!" tendencies of our local broadcasters.
- Speaking of the broadcast, hey, there's Marty Cordova! For those who missed it, the former Twin and AL Rookie of the Year showed up in the booth to talk about some goofy new business venture that involves "surgical steel jewelry" and MMA or what the hell ever. He also warned children about the dangers of tanning booths.
- Anyone else get the feeling that the season is slowly but surely slipping away? Nick Blackburn, you're our only hope.
Have a good weekend, everyone.