Unlike last night where the Twins were unable to get any sort of offensive advantage going, tonight they did the complete opposite, battering the Nationals pitchers in an 11-2 win. The team was able to capitalize on a number of mistakes by Washington to fuel the surge.
The hitters worked Nationals starter Jason Bergmann for longer at-bats, making him throw over 100 pitches in 6 innings. They tagged him for 3 runs, only one of which was earned due to 2 Washington errors. Leading 5-1 heading into the 8th, the Twins decided they weren’t done, piling on 6 more runs. The big stars were Carlos Gomez, who had 3 hits, Justin Morneau, with 2 hits and 3 RBIs and Brendan Harris, who had a double and a triple.
Starter Kevin Slowey was solid on the mound, going 6 strong, allowing 7 hits. The lone run he surrendered come on a solo shot by Felipe Lopez in the 5th. Boof Bonser did give up a run in the 9th, but by that time, the Twins were too far ahead.
Gaining the series win has to be energizing for the Twins. They were able to avoid the mistakes of last night, while taking advantage of their opponents mistakes, something that every good team does. They have all the momentum going for the sweep tomorrow.
