Twins Try to cage Birds: Head To Baltimore for Four Game Set

by Carlos Silva Fan Club

[1] [2] The Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles will do battle beginning tonight at 6:10pm in Baltimore, Maryland.

This will be the Twins only appearance to Camden Yards this season. Minnesota and Baltimore have met only once this year, which was in the season opener. Baltimore traveled to the Metrodome to face the Twins, in an eventual 3-0 Twins sweep over the visiting Orioles. Minnesota hopes to duplicate their success against the Orioles in Baltimore this weekend. Minnesota is coming off a tough series with the Seattle Mariners, where they saw a two-series win streak come to an end. However, the Twins did win the last game of the series 8-4, by virtue of a grand slam home run from Michael Cuddyer, a well hitting offense, and an excellent start from veteran Carlos Silva. The Twins starters had some trouble against the Mariners this weekend, but should rebound very well, returning to form against the O's. Minnesota's starting rotation has been pretty dominant since the all star break, and they hope to continue their success with some run support from its' offense. If the Twins offense can score 4 or more runs all weekend long, there should be a series sweep of the O's in Baltimore. Twins starting pitching has only allowed more than four runs in 4 of 19 games this month. Twins starters have been performing very well in August, and look to turn up the heat a little more this weekend. Here are your pitching match ups for this weekends series:

Boof Bonser vs Steve Trachell

Twins: Bonser extended his winless streak to 12 starts in his last outing. He gave up five earned runs over 4 2/3 innings to the Rangers. The Twins are 2-10 in his starts during that stretch. Bonser's next start will come at Baltimore, and he is 2-6 with a 5.37 ERA in 11 road starts this season.

Orioles: Trachsel snapped a nine-game winless streak on Saturday against the Blue Jays. After allowing three runs over the first two innings, the right-hander settled down and didn't allow another run for the rest of his start. He finished with 6 2/3 solid frames while surrendering eight hits and one walk. After suffering through a span of six starts in which he allowed at least four runs in a game, Trachsel has now quietly started regain his form and has tossed quality starts in three of his last four outings. He is 1-0 with a 2.98 ERA over that span. Trachsel is 2-2 with a 4.72 ERA in five career starts against the Twins. Johan Santana vs. Jeremy Guthrie Twins: There's really not a whole lot you can see about Santana's last start, besides that it was near perfection. He pitched eight innings of shutout baseball against the Rangers and set a club record with 17 strikeouts. Santana used almost exclusively fastballs and changeups, only throwing a couple sliders. It was just a continuation of another stellar season for Santana, even though his win-loss record may not represent it. Santana opened the season against Baltimore and allowed four earned runs over seven innings. Orioles: Guthrie recovered from two rough outings to throw eight innings of two-run baseball against the Blue Jays. His improved control was one of the main reasons for improved success. Guthrie started 19 of the 27 batters he faced with a strike and didn't walk a batter. His only real mistake of the game came on a poorly located curveball that Toronto's Troy Glaus hit for a solo home run. Guthrie is 0-0 with a 3.38 ERA in two career relief appearances against the Twins. Matt Garza vs Brian Burres Twins: Garza's performance against the Mariners on Monday was disastrous. His 2 1/3 innings made for the shortest start of his career and the shortest start by a Twins pitcher since September of last season. Garza's fastball, usually his go-to pitch, was the problem. He left it out and over the plate and couldn't work inside. He was tagged for seven runs, all coming off of home runs. Garza was 2-0 in two starts at Camden Yards last season with a 2.31 ERA. Orioles: The Orioles haven't announced who will start on Saturday, but Burres is the most likely candidate. He came in to pitch in relief in his last appearance, but didn't even last an inning. He got shelled by the Rangers and gave up eight runs on eight hits while only retiring two batters. It was his worst outing of the year and his ERA jumped over 5.00 for the first time all season. Burres last started Aug. 4, when he lasted only 3 1/3 innings and allowed seven runs on eight hits in a loss to Tampa Bay. Scott Baker vs Erik Bedard Twins: Baker was hit hard in his last start, a loss to the Mariners. But despite giving up 14 hits, he pitched his way out of some tough jams and allowed only three runs to cross the plate. Baker's ability to make in-game adjustments helped him last 6 2/3 innings, his ninth six-plus inning outing in his last 11 starts. Baker has not faced Baltimore this season, but has a 4.94 ERA on the road. Orioles: Bedard is proving himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball. Baltimore has won the last 12 games the incredible lefty has started, including his most recent gem against Texas. Bedard is 9-0 with a 2.20 ERA in his last 12 starts. He also has a sizable lead atop the Major League strikeout ranks with 218 this season. That mark also ties a Baltimore franchise record. If Bedard can rack up a few more wins using his four fastballs and two biting curveballs, he will have put up a strong argument for the Cy Young Award. WIN TWINS & Good Luck This Weekend

Carlos Silva Fan ClubJV Squad

832 days ago

Score 0

Twins win series 3-1. Our rotation is pitching very well lately, giving up less than 4 runs a game.

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