By the way, with these recaps, I won't bore you guys with quotes you have likely already seen thousands of times on other articles from players and managers. Instead, I'll attempt to be a bit more creative and provide some actual analysis on the game, unlike larger companies like ESPN.
Boy, has Ryan Doumit turned it around (Get it? Switch hitter?).
The Twins made it eight wins in their past ten with a 3-0 victory last night over the Royals, and Doumit provided a solo home run and two RBIs against Luis Mendoza. Mendoza is not the greatest pitcher, so the Twins may have underachieved slightly in terms of offense, but it didn't matter, as Samuel Deduno, called up recently, made his third start and second straight quality start, shutting out the Royals over six innings. He may not have the greatest control, but somehow, he gets it done. That's what the Twins need. They are 23rd in ERA and 28th in starting ERA, largely due to ineffective free agents, from Mike Pelfrey to Vance Worley. The Twins also have the 6th most innings pitched by relievers. In order to succeed this season, they need to either continue the dominant control as relievers (3rd in the league in ERA), or start pitching more into games as a starter. Thankfully, P.J. Walters, Scott Diamond, and Deduno have been able to do that with more consistency than other starters.
If, and it's a big if, the starting pitching can pitch like this for the majority of the year, the Twins have a shot at a wild card slot at best.
Either way, this recent run of games has been beneficial for the Twins, as they are sitting in third place in the AL Central. We'll see if they can take the series tonight, with Walters (2-0, 4.50 ERA) on the mound vs. Jeremy Guthrie (5-3, 3.84 ERA).
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