If Nick Blackburn was pitching with a purpose it was clearly evident tonight as he attempted to make the most of his opportunity in the rotation. Alas, given the great effort in his Major League debut, he and the Twins lost 1-0. After the offensively minded previous two games, the bats went silent as both teams combined for just 11 hits.
The Twins were only able to muster 4 hits against the Angels, with Carlos Gomez, Michael Cuddyer, Nick Punto and Matt Tolbert able to break through against Halo starter Joe Saunders. Also equally frustrating was the fact that the Twins grounded into 4 double plays during the game.
Blackburn shined in a solid start as he gave up the only run of the game, while surrendering 5 hits and 1 walk and fanning 6. He had his shaky moments, giving up a wild pitch that led to the only run of the game and beaning Angel Howie Kendrick. Matt Guerrier gave up 2 hits but combined with Dennys Reyes for a scoreless eighth, while Pat Neshek was perfect in the ninth. Reyes came in and threw only one pitch as he was able to coax a double play out of Angels first baseman Casey Kotchman.
Despite the loss and lack of offense, the Twins can be encouraged by the outing Blackburn gave them. Pushing for playing time in Spring Training, he was given the opportunity when Francisco Liriano was not deemed not ready for big league action. Blackburn’s effort is perhaps a sign of hope that this young and inexperienced rotation can do some good this season.
