Series Preview: Sox at Minnesota

Red Sox (23-14, 1st in AL East) at
Minnesota Twins (17-16, 1st in AL Central)
4 game series @ the Metrodome

Game 1 Friday 810
Lester (2-2, 3.94) vs. Bonser (2-4, 4.29)
Game 2 Saturday 710
Matsuzaka (5-0, 2.43) vs. Perkins (NR)
Game 3 Sunday 800 ESPN
Wakefield (3-1, 3.33) vs. Blackburn (2-2, 3.65)
Game 4 Monday 705 ESPN
Buchholz (2-2, 4.50) vs. Hernandez (5-1, 3.83)

What to watch for: can the Twins keep it up?
Nobody, and I 'mean not even native Minnesotans, thought the Twinks would contend this season. Not after they traded the foundation of the pitching staff, Johan Santana, especially with the young phenom who could've replaced him, Francisco Liriano, recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Yet here they are 1/5th of the way into the season and sitting atop the AL Central. Sure their record is barely above .500, but given the other alternatives I think people are pretty happy in the Twin Cities.

Who to watch for: CF Carlos Gomez .279/19R/7 2B/11RBI /13SB/.302OBP
The speedy centerfielder was one of the key pieces in the Santana trade, and he is starting to pay dividends already. The 22-year-old became the first Twin to hit for the cycle since Kirby Puckett in 1986 when he accomplished the rare feat Wednesday night against the Chisox.

Sure he has 31 strikeouts and just 3 walks, and he has a paltry .302 OBP, horrid numbers for the leadoff man. But he's in the midst of a 14-40 (.350)streak, and his hustle and enthusiasm have provided a spark for the notoriously stodgy club.

PREVIEW:
Thanks again, schedule makers.

Boston just played a four game series at Detroit with no off day between that one and the next one in Minny, and it has to play another 4-gamer with no off day before it heads to Baltimore for that series, which starts Tuesday.

Not only are there no off days in between, but they don't even get the customary afternoon game on getaway day to give them more time to get to the next city.

So the Sox might be a little tired this evening when they take on the Twins in the first game of the series, but they way they've been playing this past week, it might not matter.

Boston has won 8 of its last 10 games since dropping five straight at the end of April, and to say the offense is finally clicking on all cylinders would be putting it mildly.

Since that scoring drought that saw the team average a meager 1.3 runs per game over a six game stretch, the Boston bats have come alive, averaging almost 7 1/2 RPG in the seven games since.

And the best thing about it is almost everyone has been a contributor in some way or another, whether it be big home runs (Youk, Lowell), high average (Big Papi), clutch base hits (Pedroia) or just plain getting on, getting over and getting in (Ellsbury).

The best news of the latest surge, though, has been the resurgence of Ortiz. Since taking an 0-6 and subsequently sitting out two games with a sore knee sustained belly-flopping into first base in St. Pete, Papi has been on an absolute tear. He has 15 hits in his last 35 at bats (.429), raising his average 55 points, and he has been driving in runs like the Big Papi of old (8 in his last 8 games).

The other encouraging part about this streak is that the pitching has performed nearly as well as the hitting, save for that 10-run clunker Wednesday night in Motown.

Not counting that debacle, Boston has allowed just 20 runs in the last 11 games, or a little over 2 runs per game, and that combined with the awesome offense has added up to Boston owning the 2nd best record in the majors and being tied for the largest division lead as well.

Minnesota will present some problems for Boston, not the least of which is playing in that godawful Dome, but the Twins pitchers should not be one of them. Gone is the rotation of Santana, Liriano and Radke, replaced by guys like Boof Bonser, Nick Blackburn and unknown rookie Glenn Perkins.

The one Twin who is pitching well is the ageless Livian Hernandez. Picked up in the offseason, the former Marlin, Giant, Expo, National and Diamondback hurler has a stellar 5-1 record and a sweet sub-4.00 ERA, but he has surrendered 8 home runs, second most in the American League.

If the Sox can take care of business against those lesser-known hurlers, maybe Big Papi will make his return to Minnesota memorable with a big bomb off Hernandez in the series finale, and perhaps the Sox can take 3 of 4 again before they head to Baltimore to close out this brutal 10 game, no off-day roadie.

No thanks to the schedule makers.