Twins Overpower White Sox Bullpen

R.A. Dickey made the start for the Twins due to Scott Baker being placed on the disabled list to star the season. R.A. had a decent outing giving up three earned runs in five innings of work. He would run into trouble in the second inning when he gave up a two RBI-single to Josh Fields, which brought in Paul Konerko and Alexei Ramirez. He would then give up a solo homerun to Paul Konerko in the third, but that would be the end of the damage against Dickey.

The story of the night was the return of Joe Crede to U.S. Cellular Field, where he called home for nine seasons as a member of the White Sox. As he stepped up to the plate for the first time, former teammate Brian Anderson had them play “All Out of Love”. Crede would go on to hit a solo homerun in that at-bat. The crowd instantly booed him after the ball cleared the left field fence. This to me is a sign of respect as the fans knew how much he meant to that organization and the clutch hitting he provided, especially in the 2005 World Series championship year.

The Twins would later strike major damage to put the game out of reach. With Clayton Richards now pitching in the 7th down one run, all he had to do was keep the White Sox within reach. Well Justin Morneau had other ideas. He would hit his 2nd homerun of the season to make it a 5-3 game. Mike McDougal would come in two batters later and load the bases with no out. That was all manager Ozzie Guillen had to see, before bringing in D.J. Carrasco.

Facing his first batter, Carrasco would face Delmon Young. Delmon Young, who has been struggling this year, would hit a 2-run single to center, which brought home Kubel and Cuddyer, who both walked. Jose Morales would continue his hot hitting at U.S. Cellular field in his short career by hitting a single to center to load the bases yet again. Up came Nick Punto to get some RB Is for himself. This time he flared a pitch down the left field line scoring Crede and Carlos Gomez, who ran for Delmon. The Twins would go on to add two more runs before the carnage in the 7th was over.

In the 7th inning alone, the Twins scored 7 runs off six hits. This was just what the Twins needed after not getting many scoring opportunities last night against the Seattle Mariners in their series finally. The Twins later scored one more run in the 9th to make it a 12-5 victory for the Twins. This was a very important win, as is any divisional game, but to come out of the gates like this really makes a statement on the other teams in the Central.

The Twins will send Francisco Liriano in their Saturday afternoon game against Bartolo Colon.