Date: 6/18/10

Opponent: Philadelphia Phillies

Home/Away: Away

Starting Pitcher: Blackburn

Final Score: L 9-5

Record: 38-29

Recap: Talk about an early exit. Blackburn couldn't even get through the 2nd inning? And allowed 8 earned runs? And 2 home runs? Why didn't he just kick a puppy while he was at it to really piss me off? The game was more lopsided than the final score may indicate, as Blackburn put us in a big hole early. We were down 8 to 0 by the end of the 2nd, and 9 to 0 by the end of the 5th. But I'm still really in shock at how horrible Blackburn was. He couldn't even spread out the 8 runs over 3 or 4 innings? I know he's prone to bad outings, but that was particularly fuckterrible. Ouch. You can hardly blame the offense for not rallying from that great a deficit.

The 1st inning wasn't really all that bad. It consisted of a walk, stolen base, single, triple and sac fly. Span also didn't make the best play on the triple. But then the 3rd inning was just a train wreck. The really horrible part was that all the damage came with 2 outs. After a 1-out single the pitcher bunted foul to strikeout. So then with 2 outs Blackburn allowed a walk, an RBI single, a 3-run homer, and a solo homer. He was yanked and I think all of the Twins fans watching were grateful not to have to watch him assaulted by the Phillies any longer. 

Kudos to the bullpen, though, for coming in and only allowing 1 run over the remaining 6.1 innings of the game. I would just like to point out that Jesse Crain pitched 2.1 innings (2 outs more than Blackburn) without a hit. Crain also had his 1st career plate appearance. Sure, he struck out, but at least he made an effort. Mahay allowed the only run in his 1 inning off a solo home run, while Duensing, Guerrier, and Burnett each had a scoreless inning. 

The offense did make an effort late in the game, but it wasn't enough. 3 consecutive singles scored a run in the 6th. Then in the 7th Skinny Delmon singled (he had 3 hits and 2 runs in the game), and Punto homered (no that is not a misprint). I guess that gets his yearly homer out of the way for the season. We loaded the bases with 3 singles and 1 out in the 9th, and scored 2 runs on a wild pitch and a groundout, but that was all we managed. We might have scored more earlier in the game if Kubel hadn't decided he really wanted to try for an inside-the-park home run in the 5th inning. I think a triple would have been just fabulous. 

Best Moment: Jesse Crain getting his 1st plate appearance. Yay for him.

Most Questionable Moment: Cuddyer at 3rd base? Really? It's been like a trillion years since he played there. Of course, we could have had Thome at 3rd for all the difference it would have made.

Worst Moment: Blackburn's outing.

Quotations of the Day:

• "They have a very potent lineup. They put some good swings on some balls." - Nick Punto. Hmmm, I think they put some good swings on Blackburn's ball right? I wish I could do the same.
• "They didn't let him breathe." - Ron Gardenhire, on the Phillies putting pressure on Blackburn.
• "Once things snowballed like they did, it's hard for me to keep my focus." - Nick Blackburn

Suck-Ass Performance of the Game: Nick Blackburn (1.2 innings pitched, 6 hits, 3 walks, 2 home runs, 8 earned runs, 1 loss). I think this one is a pretty clear choice.