Double Header Kicks off the Series

Due to weather, the first game of the big Twins vs. Tigers series was cancelled last night and moved to this afternoon. That means the biggest series of the season for both teams starts with a double header. As if it wasn’t dramatic enough, this happens. But, who benefits more, if anyone, from this change? What do the Twins have to do in order to pull out the improbable comeback?

In Game 1, the Twins have Nick Blackburn facing the Tigers’ rookie Rick Porcello. Porcello’s been impressive at times and has a 14-9 record with a 4.14 ERA.

He’s a pitch to contact type pitcher and this tends to get him into a lot of jams. If the Twins can capitalize on these, they shouldn’t have an issue. The big key here is getting the back end of the lineup involved. Punto needs to continue his good play at the plate. He’s always been a key defensive player, but so far in September he’s hitting .306 with a .427 OBP. The middle of the lineup is going to get theirs, but if the end of the lineup can’t help out at least have productive at-bats, then the Twins stand no chance.

Blackburn, or Blackie as Gardy calls him, has won his last two starts and one of them was a scoreless 7 inning start on the road against the White Sox. That’s always been the knock on Blacky, that he can’t pitch on the road. Everyone knows he can pitch well in big spots, as he did in the play-in game last year on the road against the Sox. He can also go deep into games (he has 3 complete games this year) and that will go a long way to help the bullpen in case they have to step in early in tonight’s game. One thing I’ve noticed, however, is that although his record is worse on the road this season, his ERA is better. He’s 7-4 at home with a 4.30 ERA, but 4-7 on the road with a 4.07 ERA. That says a lot about this young pitcher and it also says a lot about the Twins lineup. They need to produce early in today’s game but also not look past the Tigers even if they have a 3 or 4 run lead. The Tigers are the type of team that can put up 3 or 4 in a hurry. Blackburn needs to avoid the big inning and stay within himself.

Game 2 of the double header has Brian Duensing going against the Tigers’ Justin Verlander. Verlander’s having a great season and is in the conversation for the AL Cy Young. However, Duensing has pitched well, going 5-1 with a 3.33 ERA.

He’s been very impressive, and if the Twins move Liriano to the bullpen, which they should (more on this in the offseason), then Duensing should have a spot in the starting rotation next year. His key is to not let the veteran Tigers lineup push him around. He needs to pitch deep into the game and that can’t happen if he’s letting hitters see 7 or 8 pitches. He has a tough matchup and it will be a true test of his composure. If he gets down early, we will all see whether or not he can handle the pressure of getting out of jams in big games.

Justin Verlander’s been nothing short of impressive. He has 17 or more wins in the 3 of the last 4 seasons. He has more strikeouts than innings pitched and a strikeout to walk ratio of a little over 4 to 1. Once again, the back end of the lineup for the Twins is crucial in this matchup. They cannot afford to strikeout in big spots and must have productive at-bats every time at the plate. There is no room for error against Verlander. He’s the type of pitcher the Twins would see on a daily basis if they did pull it off and win the AL Central. This will be the biggest test of the series and will definitely prove how ready the Twins are for the postseason should they make it there.

Enjoy the series! Hopefully Blacky will figure out where the strike zone is. He’s got 41 pitches through just two innings and only 20 of them were strikes.

Tags: brian duensing, detroit tigers, justin verlander, Minnesota Twins, mlb, nick blackburn, nick punto, rick porcello