Minnesota @ Cleveland preview
Progressive Field
Last Meeting ( Sep 10, 2010 ) Minnesota 0, Cleveland 2
The Minnesota Twins haven't had many bad days lately. Friday would go down as one of them.
Not only did the Twins see their six-game winning streak come to an end with a 2-0 loss to the Cleveland Indians, their lead in the AL Central over Chicago was cut to five games after the White Sox defeated the Kansas City Royals.
The Twins rolled into Cleveland as the hottest team in baseball, but someone - namely Indians right-hander Fausto Carmona - finally found a way to slow them down. Carmona was brilliant in pitching a three-hitter and retiring the last 16 batters he faced on Friday.
The Twins got only one runner to third base and didn't have two baserunners on at the same time in the entire game.
The Twins, who have been getting the big hit seemingly every night during their hot streak, were playing without designated hitter Jim Thome, who missed his second straight game with a strained abdominal muscle. Thome, who is tied with Frank Robinson for eighth place on the all-time home run list with 586, is expected to play on Saturday.
The Twins will turn to Nick Blackburn to get back on the winning track.
If the club's decision-makers were trying to wake up the right-hander by sending him to the minors, the move has apparently worked. Blackburn has looked like a different pitcher in three starts since returning from Triple-A Rochester. He has allowed five earned runs and 16 hits in 22 2/3 innings.
Blackburn's performances have bounced between brilliant and awful this season. He began the season with a 6-1 mark and won all five of his May starts.
At that point, it looked like Blackburn was in for something big, but that changed when his season quickly went south. He went 1-6 in his next nine starts, which earned him a trip to the bullpen. About a week later, Blackburn was given a ticket back to the minors.
Blackburn returned to Minnesota when Kevin Slowey experienced elbow problems and has looked more like the pitcher who won a total of 22 games the previous two seasons.
Carlos Carrasco makes his third start since being recalled from Triple-A Columbus.
The right-hander has allowed five runs and 12 hits in 13 1/3 innings.
While Carrasco is still looking for his first major league win, he has pitched much better than he did in his debut last season.
Carrasco was used as a punching bag for opposing hitters in 2009, going 0-4 with an 8.87 ERA and allowing 22 runs and 40 hits, including six homers in 22 1/3 innings.