Baltimore is in for 3

[catman]

The Orioles come to the Dome starting tonight. They are coming off a series win in Chicago, so to take them lightly would be a major mistake.
Here are the matchups:
Chris Tillman v. Scott Baker tonight.
Tomorrow, Brian Matusz goes against Armando Gabino in his major league debut.
Wednesday, its Jeremy Guthrie v. Nick Blackburn.
If the Twins play the way they can, they should sweep the Orioles. The key is to have the starters simply throw strikes and let the defense work for them. Its good to have Baker opening the series. If he has a good game, the other starters will know how to pitch to the young Orioles' players.

[catman]

Baker pitched a very nice game, getting the win (his 12th) tonight. A bit of speed helped -- Casilla was 2/3 with a triple and a run scored. Span was 2/2 with 2 walks. Cabrera stole his 12th base. Kubel drove in the winning run with a sac fly.
Mijares threw a very good inning, picking up his 19th hold. Nathan made it interesting (walking 2) but struck out the side for his 32nd save.

[henks]

Good outing by Baker. Not so good outing by Nathan. Struck out the side, but very uncharacteristic with the 2 base on balls.

[catman]

Maybe Nathan needs to get more work? I hope to see him pitch again tomorrow.

[catman]

Very good first inning for Gabino. He walked one and had 2 fly out to Span in left.

[catman]

Mauer becomes the first left-handed hitter to get a hit off Matusz.

[catman]

A bit of trivia here -- Michael Cuddyer is the only player in major league history to hit for the cycle and hit 2 homers in an inning.

[catman]

Twins leave the bases loaded in the first. 0-0.

[catman]

Tough 2nd inning for Gabino. 4 straight hits and 3 runs allowed. Only 1 out.

[catman]

Very nice catch by Felix Pie. Had he missed the ball it would have been 3-2.

[catman]

Twins get a couple back on Span's triple. 3-2 after 2.

[catman]

Short first outing for Gabino. Humber is coming in with 2 outs in the 3rd inning. 3-2 thusfar, bases loaded.
Overall, I would say Gabino was very nervous. He seemed to try to force the ball, rather than letting his stuff work for him. Hopefully, he will relax a bit in the next few days and give a better showing.

[catman]

Morneau goes deep in the 3rd to bring the team back to 4-3. Nice to see that swing again.

[catman]

Humber has some control problems, but some of his pitches were borderline strikes. They could have been called either way.
7 walks for the Twins pitchers thusfar. 2 for Matusz of Baltimore.

[catman]

Matusz has pitched pretty well for the Orioles. 5-3 after 5 innings.
Hopefully the 6th will be the charm again for the Twins.