MSP Sports | MSP Sports | Twins Drop Series to Toronto, Head to Cleveland

Mike Redmond Minnesota lost the rubber game of its opening series against the Toronto Blue Jays Thursday, falling 6-3 after a rough outing by Carlos Silva in which he gave up six runs, five earned, in 5 2/3 innings pitched. Silva allowed five hits and walked two batters. Juan Rincon came in during the 6^th with a chance to keep the game at 4-3, but he allowed both runners he inherited to score, putting the game out of reach for the Twins.

Mike Redmond was the star of the day for the Twins. The backup catcher, playing for Joe Mauer, went 2-4 with two doubles, and RBI and a run scored. Shannon Stewart also had two hits, raising his average to .538. Torii Hunter drove in his 7^th run of the season as well.

Minnesota dropped the first game of the series, also 6-3, as Johan Santana struggled to hit his spots and Twins batters struggled to hit Roy Halladay. Stewart and Tony Batista homered in the losing effort.

Wednesday, the Twins rebounded to tie the series with an impressive 13-4 victory. Brad Radke struggled again with 1st inning runs allowed, but settled down and watched the offense take over. Stewart homered again and Torii Hunter had six RBI, including four from a grand slam as the Twins scored more runs than in any game last season. Even backup infielder Luis Rodriguez got in on the fun, hitting a solo homer in his only at-bat of the game. In addition to Hunter’s 4-5 game, he also had an assist from center field.

With the game well in hand, manager Ron Gardenhire brought in rookie Francisco Liriano for two innings of work. The kid looked magnificent, striking out three in two innings of work while allowing two hits and no walks.

Minnesota now heads into Cleveland for a series against a very talented Indians club that could also contend for the division crown this season. Kyle Lohse, Scott Baker and Johan Santana will face the tribe in the three game series.

DUGOUT NOTES
*Shannon Stewart is just one RBI away from 500 for his career.
*All three games in Cleveland are afternoon games. 2:05, 4:05 and 12:05 start times.