I understand that Royals and Pirates fans have to deal with this year after year, but I'm still getting used to the Twins being out of contention in August, having to play out the string and finish the season. Last night against the Baltimore Orioles, the Twins put forward a listless effort, losing by a lopsided 8-1 score.
Brian Duensing's rocky second half continues, as the Orioles jumped to an early 7-0 lead, and he was pulled with zero outs in the top of the third inning. Final line: 2.0 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR. Duensing's ERA now stands at 5.12 overall for the season, and 7.42 over the second half. And his struggles against right handers continues, as they went 9 for 12 (.750) against him last night (left handers were 0 for 3). It goes without saying that Duensing will be pitching as a LOOGY out of the bullpen if he can't turn it around.
Offensively, the Twins managed only four hits on the night, with a Danny Valencia home run the only damage done to Orioles starter Alfredo Simon. The less said about the current state of the offense, the better. At least Justin Morneau was
Studs
- Danny Valencia: 1-2, HR, BB. The only bright spot offensively.
- Bullpen: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 3 SO. Did an admirable job keeping the Orioles off the board after Duensing left. New acquisition Lester Oliveros got out of a jam in the third inning with a double play and strikeout, hitting 98 MPH on the gun, generally throwing strikes as well.
Duds
Everyone else, escpecially Duensing.