Fausto Carmona's ERA in his last seven starts against the Twins: pushing 10.00. Fausto Carmona's ERA on Friday night: 0.00.
In a game that was over in just under two hours, Carmona stymied the Twins, allowing just three hits and going the distance for a 2-0 victory. The only real threat for the Twins came on a Denard Span triple off the glove of Shin-Soo Choo in the 3rd, but they were unable to get him home. Carmona would go on to retire the last 16 batters. Not that the Twins offered much resistance, as they also grounded into two more double plays, but he was on his game tonight. To borrow Bert's shopworn cliche, tip your cap.
Meanwhile, the Pavstache made one mistake, surrendering a solo home run to Twin-killer Matt LaPorta in the 2nd that put Cleveland on the board. Delmon Young's Adventures in Outfielding Featuring Delmon Young as Delmon Young accounted for the second run in the 5th. He let a Lou Marson liner that looked at minimum like it could have been cut off get to the wall, then caught a fly ball in foul territory that allowed the runner at third to score. These are forgivable sins on a night when the Twins weren't going to score in a cathouse with a fistful of $50s and a tear in their eye, but when Young's not hitting, his inadequacies in the outfield are absolutely [redacted] GLARING.
Studs:
Carmona. The numbers: 0 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 7 K.
Pavstache. Another complete game, giving the bullpen another day of rest and his team a chance to win on just about any other night.
LaPorta. I bet he's related to Jamie Quirk.
Duds:
Pretty much everyone else and the Vikings offense, too.
Sox are losing to KC 3-1 in the 6th as I type this, so here's hoping this is just a "Hey, what are you gonna do?" night. Enjoy your weekend, everybody.