GameThread: Twins vs. Astros, Game 107

First Pitch: 6:05 CST

TV: FSN

Radio: 96.3 KTWN, TIBN

Know Thine Enemy: The Crawfish Boxes

I worked yesterday's game. Between the 13 innings, the Long Haul Bombers softball home run hitting squad, and the fireworks show, I didn't get home until 1 am. I'm hoping for a much shorter day today.

The Twins finally won in the bottom of the 13th inning yesterday behind an RBI single by Brian Dozier, but he was set up with pitcher Kevin Correia was asked to pinch-hit and bunt just ahead of Dozier. Correia was forced to bat when Ron Gardenhire pinch-ran for DH Chris Colabello with Doug Bernier, and then had Bernier move to shortstop, causing the Twins to lose the DH for the remainder of the game. No more shenanigans tonight, Gardy!

Gibson has had a rough start to his career with his ERA over 6, but his peripheral stats suggest he's been better - not great, but better - than that. In remaining like every other Twins starter, his K/9 is under 5, but he's also been doing a decent job with limiting his walks. Throw in a HR/9 that is just a little below-average, and his FIP spits out that he should be pitching closer to a 4.79 ERA. Again, not great, but better.

Gibson will throw his 2-seam fastball more than any pitch, and he also mixes in a 4-seamer, slider, and change-up. The slider was touted as an above-average pitch, but according to FanGraphs, his best pitch has actually been his 4-seamer. Granted, this is all in 33 1/3 innings of work.

Bedard was masterful in his appearance on July 20th against the Seattle Mariners, where he threw 6 1/3 innings of no-hit baseball before removing himself with 109 pitches. He has had trouble with injuries in the past, and he admitted that he felt that pitching healthy the next few years was more important than throwing a no-hitter. Although the decision was panned by some as Bedard acting selfish, I feel that it was a wise move on his part. However, it still went for naught as he left his next start on July 25th with shoulder soreness, causing his scheduled start on July 31st to be pushed back to today.

Bedard is not pitching as well as he had in the past, but he's still having a fairly typical Erik Bedard season. He's still striking out a lot of hitters, but he's had struggles with home runs and walks this year. He features a 4-seam and 2-seam fastball, along with a sweeping curve and a change-up. The curveball has always been his signature pitch and he uses it to generate a ton of strikeouts.

1. Brian Dozier, 2B

2. Joe Mauer, C

3. Justin Morneau, DH

4. Ryan Doumit, RF

5. Trevor Plouffe, 3B

6. Oswaldo Arcia, LF

7. Chris Colabello, 1B

8. Clete Thomas, CF

9. Pedro Florimon, SS

SP Kyle Gibson

SP Erik Bedard