The Brewers have finally won a series against the Twins, and at home at that. I know, I'm just as surprised as you are. Yo's out there today, so let's see what happens next.
Current Series
Brewers lead the series 2-0
| Tue 06/22 | WP: Chris Narveson (6 - 4) SV: John Axford LP: Scott Baker (6 - 6) | 7 - 5 win |
| Wed 06/23 | WP: Manny Parra (2 - 5) SV: John Axford LP: Francisco Liriano (6 - 5) | 5 - 3 win |
Minnesota Twins Thursday, Jun 24, 2010, 1:10 PM CDT Sunny. Winds blowing out to center field at 5-10 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 80.
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Matchups, lineups and more after the jump.
Today's starter is no longer To Be Announced; it's Nick Blackburn, going on his normal spot in the rotation. As I mentioned in the series preview, Blackburn is coming off a 1.2 inning start against Philadelphia last Friday in which he gave up 8 runs including two home runs by Ryan Howard and Chase Utley. It was his worst start of the 2010 season. On the other hand, his last start against the Brewers was in a 15-3 win in which the only runs he gave up were the result of a late home run to Carlos Gomez. Blackburn's one of those pitch-to-contact guys; he led the AL in hits allowed in 2009. He'll give up about 8 hits and 3 runs per game. Blackburn's luck in the W column has been facing pitchers, for the most part, who give up that just one more run. When he loses, he's usually the guy who has given up the additional run.
This is Yovani Gallardo's second start against the Twins. Gallardo has only had 5 interleague starts in his career and both starts against the Twins came this year; the reason he's missed the Twins before is due to a late callup in 2007 and his essentially lost 2008. If his result from last month is an indication, he got lucky in 2009. His other 4 interleague starts against KC in 2007 and Detroit and Cleveland in 2008 were perfect examples of a pitcher dominating a team he's faced for the first time. (His problem in Detroit was matching up against Justin Verlander...oh well.) His start against Texas last week, not so much. Getting back to his start against the Twins, Joe Mauer did a lot of damage. Thankfully this is a day game after a night game so he has the day off. However, Justin Morneau doesn't.
Today's lineups:
| Minnesota Twins | Milwaukee Brewers |
| Denard Span CF | Rickie Weeks 2B |
| Orlando Hudson 2B | Corey Hart RF |
| Justin Morneau 1B | Prince Fielder 1B |
| Jason Kubel RF | Ryan Braun LF |
| Michael Cuddyer 3B | Casey McGehee 3B |
| Delmon Young LF | Jim Edmonds CF |
| Nick Punto SS | Jonathan Lucroy C |
| Drew Butera C | Craig Counsell SS |
| Nick Blackburn P | Yovani Gallardo P |
Bullpen usage chart:
John Axford pitched 1 inning (22 pitches) last night and 2 innings (31 pitches) on Tuesday.
Kameron Loe pitched 0.1 inning (5 pitches) yesterday and 2 innings (32 pitches) on Tuesday.
Carlos Villanueva pitched 1 inning (16 pitches) yesterday.
Zach Braddock pitched 1 inning (23 pitches) yesterday.
Todd Coffey pitched 1 inning (11 pitches) on Tuesday.
Trevor Hoffman pitched 1 inning (12 pitches) on Sunday.
David Riske pitched 1 inning (11 pitches) on Friday.
Chris Capuano hasn't pitched since June 12.