Current Series
Twins lead the series 1-0
| Tue 06/23 | WP: Francisco Liriano ( - ) LP: Jeff Suppan ( - ) | 3 - 7 loss |
Minnesota Twins Wednesday, Jun 24, 2009, 7:05 PM CDT Nick Blackburn vs Braden Looper Partly cloudy,rain. Game time temperature around 85. Complete Coverage > | ||
| Thu 06/25 | 1:05 PM CDT | |
If the Brewers win out, they could still have a winning June, going 14-13. Let's get the streak started tonight.
Nick Blackburn (6-2, 3.09) takes the mound for the Twins, undefeated in his last eight starts with a 1.84 ERA. Maybe fatigue will catch up with him? He's thrown slightly more than 102 pitches per appearance over his last five starts.
If the Brewers are going to beat Nick Blackburn tonight, they'll need a large and sudden improvement from Braden Looper (5-4, 5.21). Looper is 0-1 with a 7.97 ERA in June, has lasted less than five innings in two of those four starts and is coming off a shellacking from the Tigers (seven earned runs in 3.2 innings) his last time out. Since joining the Brewers, though, Looper has posted a 4.31 ERA at Miller Park, and a 6.67 ERA on the road.
Craig Counsell is back in the lineup for the Crew, and Mat Gamel will become the eighth Brewer to start a game in the #2 spot this season:
Craig Counsell 2B
Mat Gamel 3B
Ryan Braun LF
Prince Fielder 1B
Corey Hart RF
Mike Cameron CF
J.J. Hardy SS
Jason Kendall C
Braden Looper RHP
(h/t Adam McCalvy)
Four Brewer relievers appeared last night, but the bullpen is still relatively fresh:
Carlos Villanueva pitched last night, and has appeared in two straight games (over three days).
Chris Smith pitched an inning last night.
Chris Narveson pitched an inning last night.
Seth McClung pitched an inning last night, and will likely be rested to prep for a start Saturday.
Mark DiFelice has not pitched since Saturday.
Todd Coffey has not pitched since Saturday.
Mitch Stetter has not pitched since last Wednesday.
Trevor Hoffman has not pitched since last Wednesday.
Wednesday's Game Thread is now open.