Bobby Abreu Topic Page

Ron Gardenhire gave Jason Kubel his first start of the season in left field on Friday night, and in return Kubel put on the best show of the season and one of the better comebacks I've seen in recent years.

Kubel drove in the first run of the game on a double to the gap that scored Justin Morneau from first base. He singled in the third inning and added a triple and scored what was the tying run in the sixth inning. The real fireworks came in the eighth inning after the Twins had already scored 3 runs to reduce their deficit to 9-7. Justin Morneau was intentionally walked to load the bases with 2 outs. Kubel apparently didn't like that, and made Mike Scioscia pay the price. Kubel launched a ball to the upper deck in right-center to put the Twins up by 2 runs. Kubel's night marked the first time since Kirby Puckett in 1987 that a Twin hit for the cycle at the Metrodome (Carlos Gomez did it in Chicago last season).

Sidney Ponson had pretty much everything going against him in his Twins debut on Monday night. First, he hadn't pitched in a game in a week and a half and second he was pitching against the high powered Yankee offense. When the game started he also didn't get a lot of help from his defense. There are plenty of excuses to make for Ponson, but the truth his he didn't pitch that well either.

The Twins are coming off a split with the Chicago White Sox after a fabulous April start from Johan Santana and a 3-run homer from Justin Morneau on Sunday. The Twins sit atop the AL Central standing with a 4-1 record (2 wins ahead of Cleveland who hasn't been able to play due to weather). The Yankees are off to a bit of a rough start, similar to last year. They'll begin their first road trip tonight at the dome after a 2-3 homestand against weaker teams like the Devil Rays and Orioles.