Much to my surprise, Carlos Silva put together a good start on Monday agains the Texas Rangers. It was one of those nights where he could’ve given up 6 or 7 runs thanks to 15 runs in the first 6 innings by Minnesota’s offense. It’s good to see Silva put together a decent start. The Twins need to shore up the bottom half of the rotation if they have any chance of finding themselves in the playoffs this fall.

Monday’s game was a blowout from the start. The Rangers were sloppy in the field in the first inning which allowed the Twins to score five runs with Josh Rabe’s 3-run homer being the killer. Torii Hunter had a 3-run homer of his own in his first game back off the DL. In total Hunter was 3-5 with 3 runs and 4 RBI; not bad for a first game and no rehab assignment. Justin Morneau also had 3 hits and Nick Punto broke his 0-10 streak with a 4-4 night at the plate.

Last Season the Twins’ top average guy was Joe Mauer at .294. This year they have the following everday players hitting well above that mark:

• Mauer - .368
• Morneau - .321
• Punto - .320
• Bartlett - .328

Punto and Bartlett didn’t become everyday players until mid June, but it’s still pretty impressive what the two have done over the past month and a half.

The Twins bullpen also got a break after being used a fair amount over the weekend. Carlos Silva pitched 7 innings and Willie Eyre made a rare appearance to finish out the final two innings of the game.

Game Notes

• The Twins had 18 hits and 2 walks.
• Carlos Silva improved to 7-9 with an impressive outing against one of baseball’s better lineups.
• Jason Tyner played in LF while Josh Rabe DHed. Of course, Hunter was back in CF.
• Ron Gardenhire was absent from the game with flu-like symptoms.

Twins getting stronger

The addition of Hunter to the lineup will be pretty big as his defensive ability was noticeably absent over the past two weeks. The Twins could also use a classic Torii Hunter hot streak or two before the season winds down.

Matt Guerrier will also join the team later this week after missing two months with a broken thumb. Willie Eyre will likely be the odd man out.

Baker on Tuesday

With rumors of Matt Garza possibly getting the call soon, Scott Baker might be pitching for his job in his next couple starts. He’ll try to keep the momentum going on Tuesday against Adam Eaton and the Rangers. Eaton just came off the DL last week and got a little roughed up in a short outing against the Yankees.