Week 11 was a good week for the Twins. They got good pitching from their starters and bullpen and the offense came up with big hits when they needed them. The week started off with a sweep of a pretty good Boston ballclub and ended with the sweep of a not so good Pittsburgh team. The biggest positive from the weekend series was the Twins ability to win 3 straight on the road where they have struggled mightily this year.

There's no doubt the Twins are playing their best baseball of the season right now, but will that continue on the road this week in Houston? Looking ahead, will they play better when they get back into the division matchups in July. The Twins are 8-18 against Central division opponents, which is good for worst in baseball. Their pitching is remarkably better, so there's no reason not to expect an improvement. However, the Twins need more than a slight improvement; they need to completely reverse their inter-division record if they stand any chance of making a playoff run.

Now let's get into the players that made a positive difference during the Twins two sweeps in week 11. The list is long.

Honorable Mention

• Joe Nathaon: Nathan threw 42 pitches in a 2 innings save against Boston on Thursday. He came back in the next two games with saves. It's true that saves come in bunches, and it's impressive that Nathan is capable of pulling that off.
• Johan Santana: Santana gave up just 2 runs in 15 IP through his two starts. He got a no decision in the first outing and picked up the win in the second. He struck out 13 Boston batters on Tuesday and 5 on Sunday in Pittsburgh.
• Francisco Liriano: Liriano struck out 11 and gave up just a 2-run homer on Friday night in Pittsburgh as he out-dueled Ian Snell for the victory. Liriano is 6-1 on the season with 67 strikeouts in 58.1 innings.
• Kyle Lohse: Kyle pitched a perfect 9th inning in the Twins blowout victory over Boston on Wednesday night, but more importantly pitched well in relief on Saturday against Pittsburgh. After Bonser allowed Pittsburgh to tie the game, Lohse came in and pitched 2.2 innings of perfect baseball and picked up 3 strikeouts to give the Twins a chance to win. Jesse Crain picked up the win, but Lohse was the real hero of the pitching staff that day.
• Jason Kubel: Kubel practically made Boston cry throughout the series. He started things off late Tuesday night with a walk-off grand slam and also homered in each of the next two games. He picked up 7 RBI's in the series against Boston and had another 2-run homer on Saturday in Pittsburgh before getting some rest on Sunday.
• Mike Redmond: Redmond hit the go-ahead single on Sunday in the Twins 2-out eighth inning rally and then hit another RBI single in the 9th inning. That was his only action of the week, but the offense he's provided off the bench this year has been extremely valuable.

Player of the Week: Justin Morneau

Not only did Morneau put up some great number for the week, but he put them up in clutch situations. He had the Twins 4th grand slam in 7 games on Wednesday against Boston, but his biggest hits came later in the week. On Saturday night Morneau broke the tie with a big 8th inning solo homerun that led the Twins to victory. On Sunday Morneau hit a bases loaded double to clear the bases and assure the Twins sweep of the series.

In total, he was 8-24 with 2 walks, 5 runs and 9 RBIs on the week. He's got 16 homeruns (on pace for 38) and 56 RBIs (on pace for 133). Morneau is no longer just swinging for the fences when he comes to the plate. He's been driving a lot of balls to opposite field and as a result he's turned into an RBI machine.