Scott Baker

First Scott Baker, who allowed five hits and a run in seven innings to improve his record to 10-4. He's our No. 2 pitcher behind Francisco Liriano, and he pitched as well Tuesday as Liriano did Sunday against the Rays.

Continue reading "Baker cooks up fine start, win for Twins"

o for five with four RBIs and two runs; Carlos Gomez was two for four with four RBIs and a run; and Scott Baker had a solid outing, allowing just one run in six innings.

In the second game, Span, Matt Tolbert and Brendan Harris each had two outs. Morneau drove in two more, improving to 124. (MVP anyone? At least if the Twins win the division, I think he'd be a great choice.)

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But you have to start with the starters.

Both Scott Baker and John Lackey were terrific. Baker gave up a first-inning homer to Mark Teixeira, but that was pretty much it. The Angels managed only five hits in 12 innings.

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on the game today, is akin to a trade for Minnesota, and should bolster an already strong rotation. Scott Baker has only given up more than three runs twice in his last ten starts, as has Nick Blackburn (giving up one or no runs in four of the other seven starts). Their defense is as solid as their offense, and they just seem to hang in there. Their team batting average of .277 is fourth overall (and third in the AL) while their strikeout total is fourth lowest in the AL.

Continue reading "Twins in First"

Scott Baker didn't have a great outing, but it was good enough. Nor was the bullpen perfect, but it was up to the task.

So the Twins are only a half-game behind the White Sox. Both teams are improving their rosters -- the White Sox picked up Ken Griffey, who still has some pop though he's a liability as a fielder (and is hitting just .245).

Continue reading "Twins come back, take three of four from Sox"

Kubel was two for four with a run and two RBIs.

Scott Baker had a quality start, allowing three earned runs in five innings, and the bullpen did yeoman work, allowing one run in four innings.

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needed to win 1-0 at the Metrodome on Sunday.

The Twins definitely wasted a great performance by Scott Baker, who had a perfect game into the sixth inning. But the team, which scored six and 14 runs in the first two games of the series, couldn't muster a single run in this series.

Continue reading "Rangers arrest Twins' streak"

Jesse Crain allowed a run after Scott Baker gave up four earned runs in seven innings, a solid if not spectacular outing.

Here are some interesting statistics: The Twins are 21-6 since June 13, the best in the majors. And they've beaten the divisional rival Tigers five straight times. And Nathan has 26 saves in 26 chances against the Tigers, the most by any closer against one opponent according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

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As manager Ron Gardenhire said, "We left a ton of runs out there."

Scott Baker wasn't great. He allowed seven hits and three earned runs in six innings. But that was good enough because of the potent Twins offense.

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Wow.

The heroes Thursday were Scott Baker (3.57 ERA), who held the Padres to three runs in six innings, got his first big-league hit and scored a run; Justin Morneau, who went three for four with a homer and three RBIs; and the bullpen, which held the Padres scoreless over the final three innings.

Continue reading "Twins extend win skein to nine"

Nick Blackburn's ERA is 3.68, Scott Baker's is 3.47 and Glen Perkins' is 4.39. They've all done well during the Twins' winning streak. And Livan Hernandez, who was supposed to be the ace of the stuff, has an ERA of 5.23. (The team has gotten some runs for him and he's 8-4.)

Continue reading "Twins top Padres on late homers"

beaten by the Cubs.

Minnesota scored six runs in the third inning and rode a good performance by Scott Baker, whose ERA improved to 3.47. The young Twins pitchers have done well at home -- now they need to show they can do the same on the road.

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bathia, who's pitched reasonably well but gotten little support, shut out Minnesota 1-0 on Tuesday. Scott Baker pitched a terrific game but wasn't quite as good as Sabathia.

If the Twins keep losing, you have to wonder if they'll start shopping some of their players. I'd think Juan Rincon, suspended for using steroids a while back, would be a likely candidate for a team like the Yankees that needs help in the bullpen.

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keep hitters off-balance and should throw into the sixth or seventh inning pretty much every game. Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, and Boof Bonser all pitched well, but too often found themselves behind early in the game.

Continue reading "Twins First Homestand"

Galactica was heavily outnumbered, Scott Baker was making his first start of the year, coming off an illness and an injury.

Kansas City jumped off to a quick lead, 3 - 1 after two innings. Twins fans were beginning to wonder if the season was going to be lost  before it had really started. Teams that lose four out of five games at home don't often do well. Meanwhile, the Fleet was suffering severe losses, including a ship carrying six hundred people. It looked like darkness was coming upon us all.

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The end of Spring Training and the start of the season are looming, and the Twins have been making some moves. The big news over the weekend involved pitching. Glen Perkins was optioned to the minors, Liriano pitched four shutout innings and kept some hope of being on the major league roster alive.

Continue reading "Pitching, Pitching, Pitching"

The Twins instead will need Boof Bonser, Kevin Slowey and Scott Baker to shoulder more of the load, especially until Liriano has the confidence to become the ace that he was on track to be befo

Continue reading "MLB 2008 Season Preview: AL Central"

But if at least two of the Twins young pitchers, a group that includes Bonser, Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, and Nick Blackburn can emerge as reliable six to seven inning starters, it will go a long way to stabilizing the rotation, and protecting the bullpen, which figures to be one of the strengths of the team.

Continue reading "The Incredible Shrinking Boof"