17-23, Game Notes

I guess we know what the best way to end a big, demoralizing losing streak is: play a team with an even bigger, demoralizing losing streak. As rough a go as it’s been for the Mariners lately, it’s been even worse for the Twins, who have now lost 9 in a row and sit at a miserable 12-27. Despite these two teams’ recent troubles, though, one of them was inevitably going to pull out a win tonight, and thankfully it was the Mariners.

During this recent skid we haven’t really experienced a comfortable lead, so it was kind of weird to watch such an easy win tonight. Until the two-error ninth, it was basically smooth sailing. The Mariners struck early, taking a 1-0 lead on yet another Jack Cust double in the first, Michael Pineda cruised, and the offense played casual add-on – one more run in the third on a Justin Smoak double, two in the sixth on back-to-back home runs by Adam ‘The Ox’ Kennedy and Carlos Peguero, and one on a sac fly in the eighth. This one was never really in a lot of doubt, and that felt odd. Nice, but odd.

• So far, the 2011 Twins have been a bad offensive team, and Michael Pineda took the opportunity to put up yet another impressive line. 66% strikes, 7 K’s, no walks, and just 3 base-runners allowed through 7 innings.As usual, his fastball was electric, but he also managed to fool a fair amount of hitters with his slider, including a nasty punch out of Justin Morneau.
• Justin Smoak now has 10 doubles, and 16 total extra base hits on the year. We’re half-way through May, and he’s still sporting an OPS north of .900. Just in case you needed something to make you smile.
• Jack Cust drove an RBI double into the right field corner in the first, and then later flew out about 400 feet to dead center. He’s making a ton of solid contact, and his excellent line so far in May really reflects it. I liked the signing from the start, and while he looked completely useless in April, he’s starting to look a whole lot more like the player we thought we were bringing in.

Felix Day tomorrow!