Road Weary

post from Nick's Twins Blog on 02 June 2009 08:00:00 PM. © Nick's Twins Blog

The Twins have gone 5-0 in games that I've personally attended this year. Given that all those games have been at the Metrodome, this isn't totally surprising; the Twins have posted an excellent 20-11 record at home up to this point. This month, I'll be hitting the road to catch three Twins games: at Wrigley Field next weekend and then in St. Louis and Kansas City at the end of the month. I'm more than a little concerned that the team's winning streak in games where I'm present will be coming to an end soon.
With a 6-16 record away from home, the Twins have been the worst road team in all of baseball. At home, they've hit .278/.356/.447; on the road, .263/.335/.406. That's a disparity, but not an unreasonable one. Where the team has really struggled on the road is in the pitching department. Twins pitchers have allowed an OPS 82 points higher on the road than at home, and have posted a 4.53 ERA at the Metrodome compared to a 5.16 ERA outside of it. Last year, the split was even more dramatic (3.27 home ERA, 5.12 road).
The difference in the Twins' play at home versus on the road has been evident recently. The Twins shook off a tough losing streak by winning five of seven games during their last homestand; then, they hit the road and looked completely flat in their first two games in Tampa. They managed to salvage a win in the final game of that three game series against the Rays on Sunday (their first victory in 11 tries in the stadium of an AL East club), but certainly didn't make it look easy.
The team's struggles away from home are particularly troubling since the Twins will embark on a 10-game road trip after finishing up their current series with the Indians. Then, after playing six interleague games at the Dome, they'll hit the road for a nine-game stint. With 19 of their next 26 games set to be played on the road, the Twins will be in dire straights at the end of June if they can't play much better ball in opposing stadiums.
In a Dugout Splinters article for MN GameDay earlier this season, I wrote that maintaining their quality play at home would be key for the Twins if they hope to conquer the AL Central this season. I think I was off-the-mark. Strong play at home has essentially become a given for this ballclub; the more pressing need is that they find a way to win some games on the road. Because, if they can't, they simply don't stand a chance.

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Peavy leaves after 1 inning with virus (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 02 June 2009 07:44:46 PM. © MLB News Blog

Padres ace Jake Peavy left Tuesday night’s start against Philadelphia after just one inning, the shortest outing of his career. The team said he had a viral upper respiratory infection. Peavy, the 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner, allowed four runs on three hits, two walks and a sacrifice fly. His previous shortest start was [...]

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Uggla milestone, Ross slam power Marlins (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 02 June 2009 07:42:50 PM. © MLB News Blog

Cody Ross and Dan Uggla hit memorable homers on a night Manny Parra would probably like to forget. Uggla became the fastest second baseman to 100 homers, and Ross belted a grand slam to help the Marlins beat the Milwaukee Brewers 10-3 Tuesday night. In his 502nd game as a second baseman, Uggla beat Alfonso [...]

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Anybody Can Have One Of Those Years: Blue Jays 6,
Angels 4

post from 6-4-2 ? an Angels/Dodgers double play blog on 02 June 2009 07:35:00 PM. © 6-4-2 ? an Angels/Dodgers double play blog

It's just about getting to the point where, unless it's Jered Weaver or Matt Palmer on the mound, I'm not even gonna bother paying attention to the game. And this one turned out to be a fine example of that: Joe Saunders, who's delivered quality starts in seven of ten outings, didn't in this one, and the outcome was pretty much foreordained given the limp noodle offense, doubly so considering they were facing Roy Halliday.

Good news: scoreless frames by Rich Thompson and Jason Bulger. Send Ash my fervent hope that Rich stays up.

Bad news: More outs on the base paths (Figgins erased himself in the first after reaching), and more tough luck (Figgy lined into an inning-ending double play in the sixth). Meh.

Yahoo box • Angels recap

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Anybody Can Have One Of Those Years: Blue Jays 5,
Angels 3

post from 6-4-2 ? an Angels/Dodgers double play blog on 02 June 2009 07:35:00 PM. © 6-4-2 ? an Angels/Dodgers double play blog

It's just about getting to the point where, unless it's Jered Weaver or Matt Palmer on the mound, I'm not even gonna bother paying attention to the game. And this one turned out to be a fine example of that: Joe Saunders, who's delivered quality starts in seven of ten outings, didn't in this one, and the outcome was pretty much foreordained given the limp noodle offense, doubly so considering they were facing Roy Halliday.

Good news: scoreless frames by Rich Thompson and Jason Bulger. Send Ash my fervent hope that Rich stays up.

Bad news: More outs on the base paths (Figgins erased himself in the first after reaching), and more tough luck (Figgy lined into an inning-ending double play in the sixth). Meh.

Yahoo box • Angels recap

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Rangers-Yankees, East and West Leaders Collide

post from Bronx Baseball Daily on 02 June 2009 07:34:03 PM. © Bronx Baseball Daily

The Yankees are clinging to a one game lead over the Red Sox, while the Rangers can breathe with a[...]

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st-leaders-collide/

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Aside from Bullpen, Yanks Running on all
Cylinders

post from Bronx Baseball Daily on 02 June 2009 07:32:37 PM. © Bronx Baseball Daily

We are nearly a third of the way through the season and the Yankees (30-21) have been tearing up[...]

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Colorado Rockies at Houston Astros, Jun 2, 2009
7:05 PM CDT

post from The Crawfish Boxes on 02 June 2009 07:30:00 PM. © The Crawfish Boxes

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

Browse more photos »

Current Series

Astros lead the series 1-0

Mon 06/01 WP: Roy Oswalt ( - )
SV: LaTroy Hawkins
LP: Aaron Cook ( - )
4 - 1 win

Colorado Rockies Purple Row
@ Houston Astros The Crawfish Boxes

Tuesday, Jun 2, 2009, 7:05 PM CDT
Minute Maid Park

Ubaldo Jimenez vs Felipe Paulino

Partly cloudy. Game time temperature around 80.

Roy Oswalt was...what's the word? Oh yeah: Dominant

posted by DyingQuail about 12 hours ago

9 comments | 0 recs

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Wed 06/03 7:05 PM CDT Thu 06/04 7:05 PM CDT

Ubaldo Jimenez

#38 / Pitcher / Colorado Rockies

Height: 6-4

Weight: 200

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jan 22, 1984

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP 2009 - Ubaldo Jimenez3-61010000059.2603029226534.371.44

Felipe Paulino

#52 / Houston Astros

Height: 6-2

Weight: 180

Born: Oct 05, 1983

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP 2009 - Felipe Paulino1-496000136.0503027716266.751.83

So needless to say, we need a strong outing from Paulino.

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Slowey notches eighth victory for Twins (AP)

Joe Mauer homered and had three RBIs to help Kevin Slowey win again in the Minnesota Twins’ 4-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night. Slowey (8-1) won his fourth consecutive start pitching six strong innings. The Twins needed a good pitching performance to make up for the absence of two sluggers.

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Game #51: Ubaldo Jimenez vs. Felipe Paulino

Current Series

Astros lead the series 1-0

Mon 06/01 WP: Roy Oswalt ( - )
SV: LaTroy Hawkins
LP: Aaron Cook ( - )
1 - 4 loss

Colorado Rockies Purple Row
@ Houston Astros The Crawfish Boxes

Tuesday, Jun 2, 2009, 6:05 PM MDT
Minute Maid Park

Ubaldo Jimenez vs Felipe Paulino

Partly cloudy. Game time temperature around 80.

June starts with four-game set at NL Central's cellar-dwellars

posted by Poseidon's Fist 1 day ago

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Wed 06/03 6:05 PM MDT Thu 06/04 6:05 PM MDT

The Rockies (20-30) hammered Felipe Paulino to the tune of 7 runs in four innings the last time they saw him, as the Rox roughed up the Astros 12-1 at Coors Field, behind two Ian Stewart longballs. Hopefully, more of the same will occur tonight at Minute Maid Park in Houston. Meanwhile, Ubaldo Jimenez looks to bounce back from a rough start against the Dodgers.