Twins vs Angels coverage
Good evening folks. Tonight, Carl Pavano and Ervin Santana do battle as the Twins and Angels face off in the third leg of this opening four-game series in Anaheim. Last night, the Twins got off the schneid with their first victory, thanks in large part to an impressive power showing from the lineup. Tonight, they'll look to keep it going against Santana, a talented yet inconsistent right-handed hurler from the Dominican Republic.
The Twins counter with Pavano, who provided a calming veteran presence after being acquired from the Indians last August and will look to do the same as a full-time member of the rotation this year. His two biggest objectives this year will be staying healthy and keeping the ball in the yard; if he can accomplish both those things, there's no reason he can't be a very solid middle-of-the-rotation starter.
The Twins lineup looks mostly the same as it did in their first two contests, with the notable exception of DH, where Jim Thome gets his first start as a Twin. Thome is starting at the expense of Jason Kubel rather than Delmon Young, which strikes me as the wrong decision given that lefties pounded Santana last year (.323/.385/.526) but Young has been seeing the ball well thus far and Kubel has yet to collect his first hit so I won't whine too much.
Pitchers are profiled below and lineups are after the jump. Enjoy the game everyone!
