NewsSix relievers handling load on road trip
Minnesota (39-39) at Kansas City (33-42), 7:10 p.m. CT
By Kelly Thesier / MLB.com
06/29/09 11:41 PM ET
KANSAS CITY -- It's been nearly two weeks since the Twins decided to go with an 11-man pitching staff, leaving them with just six relievers in the bullpen, and so far the move has indeed been a positive for Minnesota. The Twins relievers have gone on a roll since the club reduced its number of pitchers by one, posting a 2.83 ERA over their last 28 2/3 innings entering Monday's contest. Coincidence? Actually, manager Ron Gardenhire said, it's a result of the starting staff doing its job as well over that time. "Your bullpen is a lot better when starters go into the sixth and seventh innings every time," Gardenhire said. "You can protect them a little bit. Hopefully [the relievers] are all throwing really good. We've had our hiccups here and there. But as I said, your starters are going to be the ones to protect your bullpen and help to keep it throwing really good." The numbers for the relievers have been even more impressive during the club's current road trip. The bullpen has allowed just two runs in 18 innings over the first seven games of the trip. But just how long the Twins might be able to get by with 11 pitchers is a question. The starting staff has provided enough deep outings so far, but Gardenhire said they were close to trouble after Kevin Slowey lasted just three innings on Saturday against the Cardinals and Bobby Keppel had to stretch out for four innings -- leaving him unavailable for a few days afterward. "If [Francisco Liriano] would have had any trouble on Sunday, we would have been up a creek," Gardenhire said. "Because Keppel pitched four innings, we would have had to go to Dickey and stretched him out. If one starter has a rough inning, your six-man bullpen is in real trouble. As long as the starters go deep in the game, we're fine." But now that the Twins have returned to American League play, it might be a little more difficult to keep going with a smaller staff. After their final two games against the Royals in Kansas City, the Twins will head back to Minnesota to face the Tigers, the Yankees and the White Sox over a nine-game homestand. With the types of offenses that those teams possess, it might be helpful for the Twins to have that additional reliever on their staff. "If you can get by with it for awhile -- until the All-Star Break, then we'll try to do that," Gardenhire said. "But if it doesn't look like it's going to work, then we'll make an adjustment. I know the teams we've got coming into Minnesota aren't teams you take lightly. There are some pretty big bats and some pretty big swings that the score could get out of whack if you don't pitch good. So we might need help. Who knows?" Pitching matchupMIN: RHP Scott Baker (5-6, 5.17 ERA)
Baker extended his winning streak to three in his last start, giving up three runs on four hits over six innings to the Brewers. All three of those runs came in Baker's final inning, during which he gave up two home runs. Baker has started to get things back on track, having delivered five straight quality starts after a shaky start to the season. Baker is 5-3 with a 3.03 ERA in 10 career starts against Kansas City. KC: RHP Brian Bannister (5-5, 4.17 ERA)
Bannister was beaten by Lance Berkman virtually single-handedly in last Thursday's 5-4 loss at Houston. Berkman's two homers knocked in four of the Astros' runs, and he contributed to the other with a single. Other than that, Bannister gave up just three hits in his six innings. A couple of his three walks turned into runs, too. However, Bannister continued to induce more ground-ball outs (nine) than flyouts (six), an indication that he has been able to keep his pitches down. Bannister has been pretty effective in his past four starts, though he has just one win to show for it. He faced the Twins on May 2 and gave up six runs (three earned) in a no-decision. Tidbits
Third baseman Joe Crede was a late scratch for Monday's contest due to tightness in his back. The Twins said it was a precautionary move. Brian Buscher took Crede's place in the lineup, playing third base and batting seventh ... Nick Punto returned to the lineup on Monday night at second base after missing the last five games due to sore ribs. Punto said that his ribs had improved quite a bit over the last three days and that he told Gardenhire after taking early batting practice on Monday that he was ready to go. Punto went 0-for-3 in his return to the lineup ... Of the new renovations at Kauffman Stadium, Gardenhire said, "They took a beautiful stadium and made it better looking. I didn't think that was possible." Tickets
Buy tickets now to catch the game in person.
On the Internet
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio• Gameday
• Official game notes On television
• FS-N On radio
• TRN 1500 Up next
• Wednesday: Twins (Glen Perkins, 3-4, 4.70) at Royals (Gil Meche, 4-7, 4.27), 1:10 p.m. CT
• Thursday: Off-day
• Friday: Twins (Kevin Slowey, 10-3, 4.41) vs. Tigers (TBD), 7:10 p.m. CT
Kelly Thesier is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
