Date: 7/6/10

Opponent: Toronto Blue Jays

Home/Away: Away

Starting Pitcher: Pavano

Final Score: W 7-6

Record: 45-38

Recap: I must say, the Pavstache has looked a bit shaky lately. I can't decide if I'm impressed that he made it into the 7th inning despite his struggles or if I'm pissed that Gardy didn't pull him earlier. I'm leaning toward pissed, but given that we won the game and it saved us from overusing the bullpen I could probably be swayed the other way. 

It was really a war of attrition, with the Twins and the Jays battering each other with home runs. In the end, the Twins were the last team standing. The key point in the game was the bottom of the 5th and the top of the 6th. The Blue Jays put up 4 runs in the bottom of the 5th to take a 5 to 2 lead. I felt pretty defeated at that point, but Morneau immediately added a line drive homer to right with 1 out in the 6th. Kubel batted next and also homered, sending the ball through the doorway to the concourse in the 2nd deck. It was quite impressive. We added a third run in the inning to tie it up. In the 7th inning it was Mauer's turn to homer to give us the lead. The Jays scored in the bottom of the same inning, tying the game, before the Twins took the lead for good in the 8th on a Span single. 

Jose Mijares, Jesse Crain and Jon Rauch pitched 2.1 scoreless innings in relief. The only hit came off of Rauch, who allowed a 2-out single in the 9th before notching his 19th save. Is it just me, or does it seem like every time he comes in for a save, he gets 2 outs and then allows a single up the middle? There was a lot of offense in the game. We probably could have had even more if the Jays hadn't made about 5 great plays to rob us of hits. Skinny Delmon had an impressive showing, going 3 for 3 with a run, RBI and intentional walk. Kubel had a couple of hits including the home run, and obviously Mauer and Morneau also went deep. Hopefully we can win Wednesday and guarantee a road series victory.

Best Moment: Morneau and Kubel's back-to-back home runs.

Most Questionable Moment: Probably keeping Pavano in the game so long.

Worst Moment: The 4-run bottom of the 5th.

Quotations of the Day:

• "We are doing everything we can. We've got beautiful T-shirts, the whole package." - Ron Gardenhire, on campaigning for DY to get into the All-Star Game.
• "It was one of those games that could have gone either way." - Ron Gardenhire

Suck-Ass Performance of the Game: Carl Pavano (6.1 innings pitched, 8 hits, 3 home runs, 6 earned runs)