Many Twins fans were probably thinking "Here we go again" when the Twins fell behind Thursday.
The Twins were down 6-2 to a tough Tigers team playing at home. I heard the scored on the radio and thought, "Oh, no, they're going to be out of the race before long."
Hold your horses. The Twins came back, the middle relief was better than it had been during the disastrous Red Sox series. The final: Twins 7, Tigers 6.
Justin Morneau had five hits, two runs -- and the game-winning homer in the 11th. The game was odd statistically. Six Twins players had no hits, yet Nick Punto went three for four with two runs and Denard Span was four for four with two runs and an RBI.
The bullpen had a great game, making up for a poor start by Kevin Slowey, who allowed six runs in three and two-thirds innings. The pen allowed no runs in seven and one-third innings. The winner was Matt Guerrier, who lost the second game in Fenway Park -- when the Twins were up three runs.
The Twins' strengths and weaknesses are all too obvious. The lineup is better than expected, with newcomers Brian Buscher, Carlos Gomez, Alexi Casilla and Delmon Young contributing. Joe Mauer and Morneau have been as good as expected.
Another pleasant surprise has been four young starters Glen Perkins, Slowey (despite his poor start Thursday), Nick Blackburn and Scott Baker.
But hold on a minute. The Twins are only two and a half games behind the White Sox, but they have glaring weaknesses.
For one thing, Livan Hernandez is starting to get lit up. American League hitters aren't fooled anymore.
Also, the middle relief has been hideous at times. The loss of Pat Neshek has had a big impact. Brian Bass and Boof Bonser are terrible. Jesse Crain is iffy. Guerrier took the awful loss in the second game against the Red Sox.
On Friday it will be Glen Perkins vs. Armando Galarraga. The Tigers are seven behind the White Sox.
