Game Thread #43: Brewers (26-16) at Twins (20-23)

So I have this theory. The Twins have won just two of their last eight games, but have scored 11 or more runs in both wins. So if the Brewers can hold the Twins under 11 runs tonight, they should win, right?

The Twins send Anthony Swarzak to the mound, making his major league debut. A 23-year-old right hander, Swarzak was a second round pick in the 2004 draft, and has spent portions of the last two years dominating the International League, where he's gone 8-4 with a 2.02 ERA in 89 innings.TheJay did some work this morning showing the Brewers' past performance against pitchers making their major league debut, with somewhat encouraging results.
For the Brewers, it's Braden Looper. Looper is 4-2 with a 4.26 ERA in 2008, which is probably reasonably close to what the Brewers were hoping for when they signed him as a free agent. He's 2-0 in his last two starts, and the Brewers are 6-2 with him on the mound. He's 7-7 in his career with a 5.29 ERA in interleague play.

Here's a look at the bullpen for tonight:

Seth McClung (1 inning yesterday) has pitched in three straight games.
Jorge Julio pitched one inning yesterday..
Mark DiFelice pitched one inning yesterday.
R.J. Swindle pitched one inning yesterday.
Mitch Stetter pitched .2 innings yesterday.
Carlos Villanueva has not pitched since Thursday.
Todd Coffey has not pitched since Thursday.
Trevor Hoffman has not pitched since Thursday.

Saturday's Game Thread is now open.