Can't win them all
The Twins opened the final season in the Metrodome with a 6-1 loss to Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners. Hernandez and Francisco Liriano dueled through the first five innings, but the game began to deteriorate in the bottom of the fifth inning when the Twins turned a bases loaded, no outs, situation into just 1 run after Justin Morneau grounded into an inning-ending double play.
In the sixth, Franklin Gutierrez slipped a 2-run homerun just past the outstretched glove of Carlos Gomez in center field, and a sloppy bullpen surrendered two more runs in the ninth.
It wasn't an all-bad night. Liriano actually pitched well, despite a few costly mistakes. 3 of his 4 runs surrendered came on long-balls, but he still made it through 7 innings on just 93 pitches. He allowed just 4 hits and 0 walks.
Denard Span makes a huge difference in left field. He chased down 2 or 3 balls that Delmon Young probably has no chance of getting to. The combination of Gomez and Span make it pretty difficult for a ball to find the ground in the Twins' outfield.
The bad news of the night, was the post-game report by Joe Christensen, that Redmond pulled his groin while running the bases on his fifth inning double. We'll likely know more when Red-dog arrives at the ballpark tomorrow. Obviously, with Mauer already on the DL, the Twins can hardly afford to lose another catcher.
Topics: Francisco Liriano, Carlos Gomez, Denard Span, Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners, Justin Morneau, Franklin Gutierrez
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