On the Hill...
The Minnesota Twins ended the Washington Nationals' three-game winning streak last night when Livan Hernandez ultimately outdueled DC lefty John Lannan, and tonight in the second of this three game series, the Twins will face Washington righty Jason Bergmann, while Minnesota throws second-year starter, Kevin Slowey, a former 2nd Round pick in the '05 Draft, that the Nationals and GM Jim Bowden were reportedly interested in acquiring this past winter when they were shopping outfielder Ryan Church around the Majors.
26-year old, New Jersey native, Jason Bergmann's never faced the Minnesota Twins. Having lost three straight starts, Bergmann's now (1-4) on the season with a 5.48 ERA in 47.2 innings pitched over 8 starts and 9 appearances. In his last three outings, Bergmann's allowed 25 hits, 13 runs, and 6 HR's in 15.2 innings. Outside of DC, Bergmann's (0-2) in 4 road starts, and on the turf in his career, the former Montreal Expos' starter is (0-0) with a 13.50 ERA in 2.0 innings of relief work.
Kevin Slowey, the Twins' 24-year old, 6'3'', right-hander out of Conroe, Texas is 20 starts into his Major League career, with a (7-7) record and a 4.72 ERA overall, including his (3-6) record and 4.70 ERA in 51.2 innings pitched this year. After losing his first four starts for the Twins in '08, Slowey's won 3 of his last 5, throwing 8.0 innings and allowing 5 hits and 2 runs in a 10-2 Twins' win over the Brewers in MIlwaukee last time out.
On The Road...
The Nationals are 7 games into a 9 game road trip through Pittsburgh, Seattle and now Minneapolis, Minnesota, with a 4-3 record after last night's loss, which leaves DC 15-22 on the road in '08.
Ground Outs! Get Your GROUNDOUTS!...29?
29 of the 54 outs recorded in last night's game were groundouts, with both Livan Hernandez and John Lannan inducing a varied array of turf-hoppers, including 7-straight ground ball outs from the top of the fifth through the middle of the sixth.
Elijah Dukes' Streak Ends...
Elijah Dukes' 0 for 4 performance last night ended Dukes' 7-game hit streak, lowering his average to .226 after he'd reached a season high .235 following his 2 for 3 game against Seattle Sunday night.
Bad Night For The NL Least...
A quick look at the MLB scoreboard shows...
Was 1 Minn 2
Atl 5 Tex 7
Fla 4 Sea 5
Phi 0 Bos 3
NYM 1 LAA 6
That's right, all five NL East teams lost last night, and of the four teams on the road, (Philly was in Philly vs Boston), not one of them is above .500 away from home this season, and only the Division-leading Phillies, 3-games over at 20-17, have a winning record whilst traveling.
Tonight's game gets underway at 8:10 pm EST. Bergmann vs Slowey on the quick infield turf. Twins vs Nationals under the dome. Who's watching the Nationals?