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Game Thread #70: Twins (35-36) at Brewers (37-32)

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Current Series

3 game series vs Twins @ Miller Park

Minnesota Twins
@ Milwaukee Brewers

Tuesday, Jun 23, 2009, 7:05 PM CDT
Miller Park

Francisco Liriano vs Jeff Suppan

Partly cloudy. Game time temperature around 85.

Complete Coverage >

Wed 06/24 7:05 PM CDT
Thu 06/25 1:05 PM CDT

Miller Park will be ready just in time for tonight's game after this weekend's flooding. Tom H. tweeted that players were told not to report to Miller Park until 3 pm today to allow contractors time to continue to work on repairs, and when players did arrive, the indoor batting cages remained unavailable. Repairs are expected to continue on the Service Level for quite some time, but Brewers Executive VP Rick Schlesinger said the repairs "will be invisible to fans as the field, seating areas, and main concourses were not affected by the water damage."

Meanwhile, the Brewers are attempting to bail out a sinking ship of their own, as they open a three game series looking for their first win of the season against the Twins. They'll send Jeff Suppan to the mound tonight, toting a 5-4 record and 4.48 ERA. Suppan is 2-0 over his last three starts, and the Brewers have won each of those games. Luck may have been a factor, though: Suppan has posted a 2.50 ERA in his last 18 innings despite allowing opposing batters to hit .314/.360/.429 against him.

He'll be opposed by Francisco Liriano, who leads the AL with eight losses (2-8 overall), and is third in the AL with 51 earned runs allowed (5.91 ERA). However, he's also tenth in the AL with 7.88 K/9. He's looked much better over his last three starts, posting an ERA of 3.79 in 19 innings, but is 0-4 in his last seven starts, and hasn't won since beating the Mariners on May 9.

Justin Morneau is expected to return to the lineup tonight for the Twins, while flooding over the weekend left an overabundance of grit at the top of the Brewer lineup:

C Jason Kendall
2B Casey McGehee
LF Ryan Braun
1B Prince Fielder
RF Corey Hart
CF Mike Cameron
SS J.J. Hardy
3B Bill Hall
RHP Jeff Suppan

(h/t Tom H.)

Coming off Sunday's game where only one reliever was used (Carlos Villanueva) and the off day, nearly everyone in the Brewer bullpen has at least two days of rest and anyone could feasibly pitch today.

Tuesday's Game Thread is now open.