The Twins again rode good pitching and hitting to an afternoon victory over the White Sox, 4-3. The win got them the two game sweep of the South Siders, their first sweep of any kind in this season.
Carlos Gomez was the offensive star of the game, going 3 for 4, scoring 2 runs, hitting an RBI double, and stealing his 11th base of the season. That puts him into 2nd in all of MLB, 2 behind Houston’s Michael Bourn. However, his most important hit was a 7th inning bunt. That allowed him to later score from third on a Justin Morneau double for the eventual winning run. That sequence capped off a game where the lead changed hands several times. Jason Kubel, who was the offensive star last night, went in the opposite direction, going 0 for 4 with 3 strikeouts. Potentially even more aggravating was that he stranded 3 runners in scoring position.
Nick Blackburn bounced back from his last start to provide continuing stability from the rotation. He went 7 innings, giving up 3 runs on 8 hits, walking 2 and striking out 4. The 3 runs included giving up his first home run of the season, a 4th inning solo shot to Carlos Quentin. Joe Nathan held down the fort in the 9th for his second save in as many nights.
Although it is only a two game sweep, the Twins have to be proud of what they accomplished. There were contributions from all facets, pitching, hitting and base-running. The solid outings by Bonser and Blackburn are particularly important, since that has been an area of concern early in the season. Of course the Twins have strung together streaks like this, the goal now is to sustain the momentum and keep winning more games.
