First Pitch: 12:10pm CDT
TV: FS-N
Radio: Twins Radio Network
Know Thine Enemy: Royals Review
After splitting the first two games against Kansas City (6-14 L, 7-1 W), the Twins look to take the rubber game of the series this afternoon at the Metrodome. After a stellar performance from Francisco Liriano last night (7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 8 SO, 1 BB), the Twins look to Carl Pavano to start the ball rolling toward some degree of consistency in the starting rotation.
Some additional notes of interest:
- Delmon Young is on fire, finally. He's on a 6 game hitting streak, batting .333 (8 for 24) with 6 runs, 2 HR and 4 RBI since August 4th. Delmon is driving the ball with authority, and at least over the past three games, he's given us a glimpse of that long awaited power stroke. However, he is 2 for 23 (.087) for his career against Gil Meche, so we could see a Span-Gomez-Cuddyer configuration in the outfield.
- Michael Cuddyer has destroyed Meche over his career, going 7 for 13 (.538) with a HR and 3 RBI. Let's hope his success continues.
Starting Pitchers
With one start as a member of the Minnesota Twins under his belt, Carl Pavano looks like the real deal. While his season totals (5.09 ERA, 155 hits allowed in 132.2 IP), Carl's peripherals tell a different story, as his FIP (4.18) is much lower than his ERA. The hits allowed appear to be driven by a high .326 BABIP, resulting in approximately an extra 10 hits allowed over the season. In addition to the hits, Pavano's HR/FB (11.9%) and 65.9% strand rate are also below career averages. However, this afternoon's start could be a problem for Pavano. As good as he has been against Detroit so far in 2009, he has been hit hard by the Royals to the tune of an 8.64 ERA in 3 starts this season.
This afternoon's start will be the first for Gil Meche since returning from the DL due to a back injury. Meche entered the 2009 season as the Royals #2 starter, behind Zack Greinke and ahead of last night's starter, Brian Bannister. Reports indicate that Meche will be limited to between 90 and 100 pitches today, so look for the Twins hitters to be a little more patient than usual in an attempt to knock Meche out early and get to the Royals' AL-worst bullpen (5.16 ERA) to do some damage in the 5th inning and beyond.