Boston’s pitching pretty much handed the game to the Twins on Wednesday night. Boston issued 10 walks and hit a batter in the game. The Twins had at least one baserunner in every inning but the eighth. The Twins could’ve actually scored a few more runs in the game. Matt Clement walked the bases loaded in the 3rd and was showing that he had no control. Hunter, for some reason, opted to swing at the first pitch he saw and hit into an inning-ending double play.

Radke continued to pitch well. He ran into some trouble in the 1st inning after Jason Kubel lost a ball in the ceiling, but managed to work out of a bases-loaded situation without allowing a run. Kubel made up for his error in his first at-bat with a 2-run second inning homerun to put the Twins in the lead 2-0. The bulk of the remaining 8 runs were scored on a Justin Morneau grand slam in the fifth, after Cuddyer was walked with bases loaded. The Twins have hit four grand slams in the last 8 days (7 games).

The Twins are playing some pretty good baseball right now. They’ve held a potent Red Sox lineup to just 3 runs in 21 innings. They’re riding a 3-game winning streak and have won 5 of their last 6 games. They’re not yet at a point where it’s even worth mentioning the standings, but .500 is now within sight and they’re again playing games that are enjoyable to watch.

Game Notes

• Justin Morneau continued his hot-streak. He was 2-4 with a walk and of course the grand slam. He’s well on pace to hit 30+ homers and 100+ RBIs.
• Jason Bartlett got the start at SS and had a nice night at the plate. He was 2-4 at the plate and scored a run in the fifth.
• Radke has put together a string of 4 pretty good starts and his ERA is starting to look respectable at 5.83. I’m at a point where I now feel comfortable when Santana, Liriano and Radke take the mound.
• Kyle Lohse pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning. Any chance that’s enough to impress a pitching starved Red Sox club that might be looking to trade? Probably not.

The Finale

The series will wrap up Thursday night with Carlos Silva facing knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. Wakefield has been pretty effective recently, including in his last two starts against two pretty good offenses—Detroit and Texas. Silva, as you know, hasn’t been good. I’m crossing my fingers that the knuckler isn’t working for Wakefield, but regardless 2 out of 3 against Boston is pretty good.