Fielder Topic Page

Joe Mauer didn't embarrass himself Sunday night in the home run derby, but he didn't have enough to advance into the 2nd round. He ended up bopping 5 homers in the first round, which landed him in a swing-off with Carlos Pena and Albert Pujols to advance to the 2nd round. Pujols advanced, but Mauer proved he can keep up with the more notable long ball hitters in baseball.

The Twins put together a 9-2 lead after five innings of baseball on Sunday, but Kevin Slowey and Juan Rincon allowed them to creep back into things which set up an interesting ninth inning. Slowey struggled with his control early and manged to work out of some jams in the first two innings. He settled in a little bit, but allowed 3 home runs and left after pitching 5 1/3 and giving up 4 runs.

Boof Bonser turned in a decent start on Saturday night against the Brewers, but once again the offense gave the starting pitcher virtually no chance to win. The Twins bats were up against Dave Bush, who had a 3-6 record and an ERA of 5.70 coming into the game. Scoring runs shouldn't have been a problem, yet they managed just 2 runs through the entire game.

Scott Baker's start was going along just fine through the first three innings. It looked like he might repeat the success he had in his season debut in Milwaukee last month when he came just shy of a complete game. It all fell apart in the fourth inning though when Geoff Jenkins hit a grand slam over the baggy to put the Brewers ahead 4-1.

As much as my old-fashioned baseball loving mind hates the idea of inter-league play, I must admit it provides me with a convenient opportunity to see the Twins on the road in a real stadium. I'll be heading to Milwaukee with a couple friends for Friday and Saturday nights' games at Miller Park. I've never been to Miller Park (or really Milwaukee for that matter), so I'm definitely excited about the trip, despite how the Twins are playing heading into the weekend.