First Pitch: 7:10pm CDT
TV: FSN
Radio: Twins Radio Network
Know Thine Enemy: True Blue LA
The Dodgers visit Minneapolis for the first time since June 2006, when the Twins were in the middle of a stretch in which they won 20 out of 22. Minnesota swept LA, giving them seven wins in a row, a stretch in which they picked up exactly zero games in the AL Central race and remained eleven games behind Detroit. I point this out as a note that the Twins have lost five in a row and are still only nine games back of the Tigers, a reminder that things could always be worse.
Anyway, it's three with the Dodgers at Target Field, an off day, then three with the Brewers. It's also the beginning of another ten-game homestand for Minnesota.
Nick Blackburn takes the hill for the Twins, coming off a six-inning, four-hit, three-walk performance against the Giants on Wednesday in which he took the loss. Since the beginning of May, Blackburn has posted a 2.35 ERA and nine quality starts in ten outings, and I'm assuming that if you ask Bert, this is because he's kept the ball down in the zone. (He's given up seven home runs in this stretch, but let's just ignore that.)
Billingsley's third-ever major league start was in 2006 at the Metrodome. Joe Mauer hit an RBI single and a two-run triple off him in the first two innings, and BIllingsley didn't make it out of the sixth, earning his first-ever major-league loss. In a related story, Bilingsley's yet to complete the sixth inning in June, with an 8.53 ERA in four starts. During that stretch, batters have an astounding .998 OPS against him.