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Twins
Scott Diamond hasn't been performing at the level he performed at last year, where he had a stellar [for the Twins] 3.54 ERA over 173 innings pitched--but this doesn't mean he hasn't had good games. Diamond when 7 scoreless innings against the Red Sox on May 7th, and gave up only 1 earned run over 6 innings pitched against the White Sox on April 21st.
In his last start against Detroit, Diamond gave up 3 earned runs over 5.2 innings--but considering he was facing Miguel Cabrera (who promptly hit a home run in the 1st inning) and co., maybe that's not as bad as it seems. However, Diamond did give up 6 earned runs per game in his two starts before that, soooooooo...
Hopefully Diamond can right the ship today against the Brewers.
Brewers
Alfredo Figaro is making a spot start for the Brewers tonight since scheduled starter Hiram Burgos hit the DL with a screwed up shoulder. Tonight will be Figaro's fifth start of his major league career, with all four of his previous starts having been for Detroit in 2009 and 2010 when the Twins were still kicking the Tigers ass. In case you were wondering, Figaro did not do particularly well either of those years, sporting an ERA over 6 in both.
So what has Figaro been doing since 2010? He's been in Japan pitching for the Orix Buffaloes! In Japan, Figaro did much better, with an ERA hovering around 3.00 and a very modest amount of strike outs. But of course, this isn't Japan.
None of the Twins players have ever faced Figaro, but hopefully things go their way tonight.