Series Preview: Sox @ Twins

Minnesota Twins (15-13)
AL Central standing: 3.5 games back
Team Avg: .281 (1st in AL) Team ERA: 3.92 (4th)

Pitching matchups:
GM1 FRI, 8EST Wakefield (2-3, 2.59) vs. Silva (2-1, 3.10)
GM2 SAT 7EST Tavarez (1-2, 7.58)vs. Santana (3-2, 3.60)
GM3 SUN 2EST Schilling (3-1, 3.15) vs. Ponson (2-3, 6.67)

KEY PLAYERS:

• Justin Morneau- the reigning AL MVP is off to another good start, hitting .270 with a team-leading 6 homers and 17 RBI
• Torii Hunter- the superb centerfielder is blazing hot right now and has seemed to put his playoff gaffe behind him. Hunter leads the Twins with 6 homers, 14 doubles, 20 RBI, 20 runs and 6 steals, and he has hit in 18 straight games, raising his average from .250 to .330
• Joe Mauer- oh yeah, the reigning batting champ is also off to a torrid start, too. He's 5th in the league in batting at .354 and looks to be the heir apparent to Mike Piazza as the next great hitting catcher
• Johan Santana- the two-time Cy Young winner is not exactly tearing it up so far this season, but you know by the end of the year he'll be in the running for another Cy for the mantle

Although the Twins are leading the league in batting, overall they are not impressing anyone so far. But after what happened with them last season, nobody's counting them out of the race.

Minny languished for over half the season before it got hot and caught & passed the Detroit Tigers for the Central title on the final weekend of play, then came crashing down when it got swept by Oakland in the Division Series. But the team could boast of the league's best hitter (Mauer), pitcher (Cy-tana) and player (Morneau), although fans of David Ortiz think it's ludicrous that the guy won the award over Papi.

This season they seem to be following the same pattern-lay low for a half a year, then come on strong late. The team was really affected down the stretch in '06 by the loss of phenom Francisco Liriano, who jumped out to a 12-3 start, then had to shut it down and have Tommy John surgery.

That loss has also carried over to the staff this season, as Cy-tana has to shoulder the load of being the 1st, 2nd & 3rd best starters on the team. To make matters worse, normally solid closer Joe Nathan has had his troubles so far; he's blown 1 save and taken a bad loss, both versus the Rays, and he's given up 19 hits and 5 runs in 13.1 innings

Boston may have closer troubles of its own, though, as Jonathan Papelbon has been unavailable to pitch since his 35-pitch, blown save meltdown Wednesday night. Could just be precautionary, could be related to his shoulder woes from his phenomenal rookie campaign, when he and Liriano were running neck & neck for the Rookie of the Year until both had to shut it down. If he can't answer the bell tonight, then RSN should start worrying.

Luckily for Boston their offense has been able to compensate for any pitching problems- just ask Dice-K. With Lowell on fire, Manny heating up, and Papi providing the necessary key hit or RBI, this team is as loaded as any in the league, and ready to start this 6 game road trip off on a high note.

Especially with the Gascan facing Cy-tana in Game 2 tomorrow.

Go Sox!