The Twins were swept tonight in Kansas City, with Minnesota pitcher Liam Hendriks throwing 94 pitches in just 5 innings, and while he only allowed one run to score, the offense wasn't able to pull anything together against Wade Davis.
Davis went 5 innings as well (throwing 96 pitches), but managed to keep the Twins off the scoreboard. Though he did walk 3 Twins, he also struck out 6, compared to no walks and 4 Ks. The difference was in the bullpens and offense tonight, as the Royals bullpen managed to continue to keep the Twins off the base paths for the most part, and definitely off the scoreboard. The Minnesota bullpen allowed two more runs to score after Hendriks left the game, with Josh Roenicke and Brian Duensing both giving up a run in a combined 1.1 innings. Casey Fien came in to close up the game and didn't allow any runs to score, though he did give up a hit and 2 walks.
As far as the offense goes, tonight was another snoozer for the Twins. Chris Parmelee lead the offense, going 2-for-4, but nothing came of either of his on-base moments. The only other Twins batters to get a hit were Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Trevor Plouffe, and Brian Dozier. Josh Willingham, Brian Dozier, and Ryan Doumit did all also draw walks, but again...didn't capitalize on any opportunities. The team's RISP for the game was 0-for-10, with 11 LOB. Definitely not how to win a game.
Studs and Duds
Studs
1. Casey Fien. 1.2 innings and no runs. Good job.
2. Chris Parmelee, for leading the batters. Good job.
3. Uh...I don't know, Kaufman Stadium for being a nice ball park. Good job.
Duds
1. OFFENSE. Please stop being awful on days I have to do recaps.
2. Liam Hendriks. Would have been better had you made it through more than 5 innings with way fewer pitches.
3. Winter. Seriously...go away!
Up next:
The Twins have an off day tomorrow, and come home Friday night to take on the New York Mets at 7:10 pm CST. It'll be Jon Niese throwing for the Mets and Vance Worley throwing for the Twins. Make sure to stop by for all your Twins-related news!