Minnesota @ Cleveland preview
Progressive Field
Last Meeting ( Aug 7, 2010 ) Minnesota 7, Cleveland 2
Baseball teams always have to be ready for the unexpected over the course of a long season.
Take the Minnesota Twins and their rotation, for example. It was assumed the starting five of Francisco Liriano, Carl Pavano, Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey and Nick Blackburn would form one of the best rotations in the American League Central and perhaps the entire league.
But in every season comes a bump in the road. Or, in Blackburn's case, a major bump. After going 5-0 in May, the right-hander cruised into June with a 6-1 record and all seemed right in his world.
That suddenly changed. Blackburn went 1-6 in his next eight starts and was moved to the bullpen in mid-July. He was in Triple-A Rochester by the end of the month with a 7-7 record and a truly ominous 6.66 ERA.
To the rescue came Brian Duensing. After making 39 appearances out of the bullpen, the left-hander has excelled in Blackburn's spot in the rotation. Duensing has done everything the Twins could expect and more. He's 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA in three starts. Duensing has pitched six innings twice and has increased his pitch count in all three starts.
His best outing came against Tampa Bay on Tuesday, holding the Rays to three runs and four hits in six innings. He was outstanding after yielding a three-run homer in the first.
It's possible Duensing can repeat what he did late last season, when he was one of the Twins' best starters as they overtook Detroit and won the division title in a one-game playoff. He was 5-0 with a 1.88 ERA in seven starts from Aug. 22-Sept. 23.
It would be a major understatement to say it's been a tough season for David Huff. After finishing 11-8 (a team-high in wins) in 23 starts last season, there were high expectations for Huff in 2010. Instead, it's been a rocky road for the left-hander, both literally and figuratively.
Huff was hit in the head by a line drive off the bat of Alex Rodriguez in Yankee Stadium on May 29. He wasn't seriously injured and managed to make his next start. However, Huff hasn't won since May 23 and was sent to Triple-A Columbus in late June after losing three starts in a row.
Huff was 6-0 in seven starts in the minors. The trade of Jake Westbrook and a back injury to Mitch Talbot left some open spots in Cleveland's rotation, which gave Huff another chance. He lost in Fenway Park on Wednesday, giving up three earned runs in 5 1/3 innings.
The teams split the first two games of the season. The Indians took Friday opener 7-6 on Matt LaPorta's ninth-inning home run. The Twins came back with a 7-2 win Saturday night behind seven strong innings from Carl Pavano, four hits from Joe Mauer and Trevor Plouffe's first major league home run.