Nightly Notes: Game #2

Ah, what a difference a night makes! Last night, many fans were thrilled with a somewhat unexpected 3-2 victory. Tonight, however, the magic disappeared and the Twins suffered a rough 9-1 loss. This post will cover some thoughts about the game. Also, if you're interested, the post below this one covers the season opening roster for the Ft. Myers Miracle. Now, onto the game notes:

1.) Boof Bonser wasn't very good, but he also wasn't as bad as it seemed. I didn't get to see the early innings of the game, but Bonser at least made it through 6 innings tonight and threw 89 pitches -- so the good news is that he was more efficient than he often was last season, and he gave up just 3 earned runs (4 total), so he pitched well enough to keep the Twins in the game. In another good sign, Bonser struck out 4 batters without walking any. Unfortunately, these positive aspects of Bonser's performance weren't nearly enough on a night when Jon Garland was absurdly good.

2.) Congrats to Brian Bass and Matt Tolbert on making their big league debuts, although certainly their performances left a little something to be desired. Tolbert had a run-of-the-mill 0-for-1 night as a pinch hitter for Adam Everett, but Bass had a more garish 1.1 inning stretch where he gave up 2 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits and a walk. Still, a debut is a debut, and now that both players have the first one out of the way they can hopefully move on and perform better the next time out.

3.) Unfortunately, Bass and Bonser weren't the worst pitchers of the night. Juan Rincon and Jesse Crain inspired no confidence with their weak performances, and Dennys Reyes gave up a hit to the only batter he faced. The Twins offense isn't good enough to survive poor performances from the bullpen, and Joe Nathan and Pat Neshek can't pitch every night. In other words, the Twins will need the lower half of the 'pen to deliver if they're to have any chance of finishing the season with a reasonably good record.

4.) Jason Kubel and Mike Lamb left a combined 9 men on base today. Ouch.

5.) The only good news offensively tonight was Delmon Young's 3-for-4 performance. That means he's now hitting 5-for-8 while Torii Hunter is 0-for-8. The season is still young, but at least so far Young is proving himself to be a reasonable replacement for Torii at the plate.

6.) Nick Blackburn takes to the mound tomorrow for the first of what are likely to be two chances to prove he belongs in the Twins rotation. Believe it or not, I'm actually looking forward to this game more than I have to the first two, because I'm really curious to see Blackburn get on the mound this season. Hopefully the Twins can secure another win to guarantee at worst a series split.