Minnesota.Twins.MLB.com

By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com

Kyle Lohse will look to get the Twins back on track in Seattle Tuesday. (Tom Olmscheid/AP)

That can be said no more.

Lohse turned in his finest performance of the season with six solid innings, but was not rewarded with the win in Minnesota's 9-5 win over Toronto. He allowed one run on seven hits with two walks and a strikeout.

The right-hander frequently dealt first-pitch strikes over his first five scoreless innings and forced the Blue Jays to put the ball in play for routine outs.

"Everything felt good today," said Lohse, who is 1-2 with a 6.51 ERA this season. "I was keeping them around the plate, kept it down in the zone. That's what I've been working towards and I finally got some pretty good results out there."

"He changed speeds and did exactly what (pitching coach Rick Anderson) and him talked about," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Moving the ball in and out and using his changeup. He got a lot of outs with his changeup. And when he needed to go to his 94-95 mph fastball, he had it."

Even when Lohse worked into his one big jam during the sixth inning, he impressively got himself out of it.

He began by allowing back-to-back hits by Vernon Wells and Carlos Delgado. A first pitch up-and-in to Josh Phelps got away, hitting Phelps in the shoulder to load the bases. A 3-1 delivery to Eric Hinske was high, giving Hinske a run-scoring walk.

"I've never walked anyone home (before 2004) and now I've done it twice," Lohse said. "I was trying to be too fine."

Anderson emerged from the dugout for a visit to the mound. The talk gave Lohse a breather and obviously did the trick.

Orlando Hudson grounded a ball back to the mound, which Lohse fired to the plate to begin a 1-2-3 double play. Kevin Cash struck out swinging to end the inning.

"He remained calm and did a heck of a job," Gardenhire said. "He pitched his tail off."

Lohse won 14 games last season but endured a roller coaster year filled with erratic or inconsistent performances. After a rough start to 2004, he hopes Wednesday's strong start will have the edges all smoothed out.

"I feel like I've had flashes of it about every start," Lohse said. "It seems like every game there was a big inning where I gave up runs. I was able to stay out of that big inning."

Punto starts: With second baseman Luis Rivas mired in a 0-for-21 slump, he was lifted from the starting lineup Wednesday in favor of utility man Nick Punto. Gardenhire felt Rivas could use a mental break after struggling the last six games.

"We're just going to mix it up and find what works and who's playing good," Gardenhire said. "Luis is having a hard time right now and we'll put the other guy out there and see what happens."

Tough glove: The Twins entered Wednesday's action with 18 errors, second-most in the American League. Eleven of the errors have been committed at the Metrodome.

The team's .977 fielding percentage is second-worst in league behind the Yankees. It's an oddity considering Minnesota's defense has been one of baseball's best in recent years. Gardenhire said the club is still adjusting to the ballpark's new FieldTurf surface.

"We work very hard at catching the ball but right now, you have to give a little leeway," Gardenhire said. "It's early in the year."

Minnesota has committed at least one error in 13 of its 20 previous games this season.

"I think we'll be fine when it's all said and done," Gardenhire said. "We haven't had our true lineup out there really. Once we get it out there, we'll be ok."

Down on the farm: Triple-A Rochester outfielder Michael Restovich was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer in the Red Wings' 3-2 loss to Buffalo Tuesday. Restovich has five homers and 11 RBIs this season.

Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

print this page    |    email this page