Brian Duensing Topic Page

I might just be caught up in the excitement of the moment, but it's hard for me to remember a Twins game since 1991 that's more exciting than what just took place in the Metrodome.

The Twins surrendered a 10 run lead largely thanks to a poor start by Nick Blackburn and an even worse showcase by Brian Duensing, Bobby Keppel and Jose Mijares. This has to be the lowest point of the season so far.

The Twins were swept by the Yankees in a 4 game mid-May series at Yankee stadium. They lost the 4 games by a combined 5 runs, so the hope was that they'd be able to get over that hump while playing on their own turf. That was not the case. The Twins' bats were shut down by CC Sabathia and Twins' pitching backed themselves into corners with 7 walks in the game.

The Yankees scored 3 runs early, with the help of some bloop hits and control problems from Scott Baker. By the end of the 3rd inning, Baker had already surpassed the 50 pitch mark. Brian Duensing relieved Baker in the 4th, with bases loaded. Carlos Gomez robbed Alex Rodriguez of a grand slam with a leaping catch in dead center. For a moment it prevented the Yankees from busting the game open, but they would still add a couple runs to their lead.

The Twins on Monday designated RHP Luis Ayala for assignment and called up 27 year-old RHP Bobby Keppel from AAA Rochester. In the grand scheme of things, the move is probably pointless. They've basically swapped one bad pitcher for another one. Still, the move raises a few questions in my mind.

I'm not sure what the Twins were expecting when they signed Ayala to a 1-year $1.3 million contract in the offseason. His numbers this year have been almost perfectly in line with his career marks, but apparently Bill Smith and Company have decided that's not what they're looking for. If they expected the 31-year old to somehow defy numbers posted in over 350 career big league innings, they're absolutely insane.

Up to this point, Glen Perkins has been the only pitcher that has given the Twins truly good starts. Last week he didn't get the win as the Twins lost 2-1 after Perkins pitched 8 innings of 1-run baseball. On Tuesday night it looked like Perkins might again become the victim of an offensive sleeper. With a 2-1 lead in the seventh and bases loaded, the Twins had a prime opportunity to separate the score a little bit. Unfortunately, Michael Cuddyer struck out and Joe Crede grounded into an inning ending double play.

The Blue Jays tied the game on Perkins in the eighth, and the game was ultimately not decided until Joe Crede redeemed himself with a walk-off double that score Justin Morneau in the 11th.

The Twins have said that Scott Baker will be activated in time to start Wednesday's home game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Obviously R.A. Dickey will be knocked out of his spot in the rotation, but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll be sent packing.

After failing to score a run on Thursday afternoon, the Twins bats came alive on a cold Friday evening in Chicago. Neither starter was great. R.A. Dickey and Jose Contreras lasted just five innings, but Dickey was just a little bit less hittable and was credited with the win. The Twins' record improved to 3-2, enough for first place in the division.

The Twins scattered single runs through 4 of the first 5 innings as Chicago tried to keep pace. Things got out of hand for the Sox in the seventh inning when the Twins posted 7 runs, more than they had scored in any of the previous 4 games. Justin Morneau led off the inning with his second home run of the season. Jason Kubel, Michael Cuddyer and Joe Crede were all then walked. Singles by Jose Morales, Nick Punto, Denard Span and Alexi Casilla helped provide the scoring, and then Justin Morneau added his second RBI of the inning with a sac fly.

The Twins will host the Seattle Mariners tonight for the final season opener at the Metrodome in front of a sold out crowd. The Twins enter the season as the picks by many to win the AL Central, largely because division is relatively weak again this year.

Scott Baker just pitched 5 strong innings against AAA competition yesterday, so it comes as a surprise that Joe Christensen is reporting that Baker will start the season on the 15-day DL with shoulder soreness.

The Twins have just a handful of players to cut prior to heading north for the start of the season (one week from tomorrow), so there's a pretty clear picture of what the roster will look like when the Twins host Seattle on April 6th.

The currrent roster is as follows:

Pitchers