Twins...Win?

The 2012 Minnesota Twins lost their first four games before tabbing their first win of the season. They waited until the calendar read May before they picked up their second series win of the year.

What a difference a year makes.

Yesterday, the Twins finished off the Orioles 4-3 to pick up their fourth win of the young season. They also won their second consecutive series. At 4-2, the Twins are exceeding expectations early into the 2013 season.

Prior to the season, most Twins writers and bloggers (myself included) said this team could win IF:

·         The starting pitching is simply average

·         The offense can put together some timely hitting

·         The bullpen excels at keeping games close

So far, the Twins are hitting every bullet point on that “if list”.

Starting Pitching

Vance Worley has two starts under his belt, and while his 0-1 record, 5.73 ERA and 1.818 WHIP are not numbers that would befit an ace, Worley has largely been a solid pitcher for the Twins at the top of the rotation. As the season progresses, Worley is expected to settle into his groove and bring those numbers down.

Kevin Correia and Mike Pelfrey have each turned in impressive starts so far this season as well. Correia’s 7.0 IP, 2 ER outing against Detroit was solid enough to allow the Twins to hang around until Eduardo Escobar could win the game on a walk-off double on Wednesday while Pelfrey held the talented Tigers offense to 0 earned runs in route to helping the team notch their first series win against the Tigers since 2010.

Liam Hendriks, unfortunately, has been the outcast of the staff so far this season. He was roughed up by the Orioles on Friday, yielding 4 earned runs over 4.2 innings of work. Hendriks will have a chance to start against the Royals on Wednesday, which will likely be a big start for the young righty. With Scott Diamond set to return to the team at the end of the week, the pitcher with the weakest performance so far will likely be sent back to Rochester. As of now, that’s likely Hendriks.

Pedro Hernandez made a spot start for the injured Cole De Vries on Sunday, and largely did what the team needed him to do. Through 5 innings of work, Hernandez held the O’s to 3 earned runs. His control was spotty and he walked too many batters to be considered effective, he kept the Twins in the game so the offense could rebound. When De Vries returns from the DL, Hernandez will likely return to AAA, but his outing was good enough to keep him on the short list for spot starts in the future.

Bullpen

The bullpen has proven to be rock solid the season. Outside of Tyler Robertson’s hanging fastball that was crushed for a grand slam on Friday, each player has stepped in and kept the other team off base and off the scoreboard.

The biggest bright spot so far this season has to be Josh Roenicke, a waiver wire pickup from the Rockies last winter who has become Gardy’s go to guy to hold games in the 6^th and 7^th inning. Through three games this season, Roenicke has not conceded a run, only allowed two hits and has bridged the gap between the starters and the back of the bullpen effortlessly.

Youngster Ryan Pressly, the Twins Rule 5 pickup this season, has also been a surprise in the bullpen. Through two appearances this young season, Pressly has only allowed 1 hit and has struck out 2.

Anthony Swarzak, fresh off the DL, picked up the win yesterday, looking solid in 1.2 innings of work. Brian Duensing has picked up where he left off last season, acting as a solid lefty reliever in tight spots. Jared Burton and Glen Perkins, the two brightest spots of 2012’s team, have continued their success into 2013. Burton has left batters looking foolish in the 8^th inning of tight games while Perkins has shut down the opposition in each of his three appearances this season.

Offense

2012 saw the Twins’ offense start off very slowly. By the time they began to heat up and play consistently, the team was already buried in last place in the Central and all hope for the season had essentially been extinguished.

Despite the struggles of Aaron Hicks (which were to be expected) and a slow start by Chris Parmelee, the offense has largely been very productive.

Josh Willingham, Trevor Plouffe and Justin Morneau have been great sluggers while Joe Mauer, Ryan Doumit and Brian Dozier have been consistently been reaching base. Even Pedro Florimon and Eduardo Escobar, two guys who were not expected to contribute too greatly on offense this season, have proven to be solid with the bat.

It’s far too early to get excited about this team, and it’s foolish to adjust your expectations for the club based off of six games. It is, however, nice to see the Twins playing the quality of baseball we’ve known their capable of. With solid defense, average pitching and a relentless “piranha” style offense, this team can hang around in any game. That makes for a much more enjoyable team to watch.

Here’s hoping the momentum carries into the series with Kansas City and beyond.