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	<channel>		<title>RUWT? News</title>
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		<description>RUWT? News for Detroit Tigers vs. Minnesota Twins 7/5/2009</description>
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		<lastBuildDate>Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:47:27 GMT</lastBuildDate>
		<pubDate>Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:47:27 GMT</pubDate>
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				<title><![CDATA[Morneau, Blackburn lead Twins past Tigers 6-2]]></title>
				<description><![CDATA[By DAVE CAMPBELL
AP Sports Writer

MINNEAPOLIS(AP) -- Fueled by his neatly falling sinker, Nick
Blackburn finished an important series for Minnesota by
finishing another efficient performance.

As long as Blackburn keeps pitching like this, the Twins can't
help but call him their ace.

Justin Morneau punctuated a productive series - and celebrated
another All-Star game selection - with a two-run homer to back
Blackburn in Minnesota's 6-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on
Sunday.

"We've got a lot of confidence in him," said catcher Joe Mauer,
who singled ahead of Morneau's shot to start a six-run fourth
inning against Detroit rookie Rick Porcello.

Blackburn (7-4) took a shutout into the ninth, but left fielder
Denard Span dropped a soft fly ball for an error and Brandon
Inge followed with a two-run home run, his 19th. Blackburn gave
up two more singles, giving the slumping Tigers seven hits for
the game, but got the last two outs to notch his third complete
game in his last four turns.

The best part for him, of course, is that the Twins - despite
their season-long flirtation with the .500 mark - have avoided
falling too far behind the Tigers in the AL Central race during
his establishment as the team's top starter.

"Sooner or later all the breaks had to start going our way, and
I think now we're all clicking together," Blackburn said.

The Tigers have held sole possession of first place daily since
May 16, but a lack of offensive life on this road trip - they
batted .224 - led to a 3-6 record. The Twins are two games back,
the closest they've been in a month.

"You take a lead and run with it and you get the boys back in
the dugout as quick as you can," said manager Ron Gardenhire,
whose postgame praise of Blackburn's poise has become routine.
"He did that the whole day."

Inge's homer gave some hope, but Blackburn's mastery and
Porcello's early exit put manager Jim Leyland on edge after the
game.

"Too little too late," Leyland said. "Porcello, for the first
time, I thought lost his composure. And, last but not least, our
starting pitchers have been getting to the point where their
pitch counts are way too high by the sixth inning."

He's throwing first-pitch strikes, putting his sinker in the
right places, and using both sides of the plate to get grounder
after grounder. Inge said he only saw two balls across the white
part of the plate. One of those was his homer.

"Everything else was black corner, black corner," Inge said. "He
was incredible on spotting his pitches. Not just fastballs: It
was fastballs, sliders, curve balls, sinkers in. I mean, he was
very impressive."

Morneau went deep twice during the series and finished 9-for-15
with five RBIs. The Twins scored all of their runs in the fourth
against Porcello (8-6), who threw seven shutout innings at them
during a defeat in Detroit on May 5.

They sent 10 batters to the plate that inning, though two of the
runs were unearned when shortstop Adam Everett snagged Span's
RBI single to the hole and tried to make a tough throw to second
base that sailed into right field. Porcello finished the inning,
but that was it for him: seven hits, two walks and his second
straight loss following four consecutive victories.

"I don't feel like I'm losing my focus out there. I think, today
especially, I didn't do a very good job of coming back after
giving up the big hit," Porcello said. "That's a big reason why
I'm having problems in certain innings like that."

NOTES: Despite Span's drop, the Twins have only 32 errors past
the midpoint of the season. That puts them on pace to breeze by
their team record for fewest fielding flubs in one year, 74 in
2002. ... The 53 pitches thrown in Friday night's 16-inning game
by speed-baller Joel Zumaya prompted Leyland to declare the
reliever off limits for the rest of the weekend. Zumaya missed a
lot of time in 2007 and 2008 to finger and shoulder injuries,
but Leyland said he wasn't worried about increasing the
right-hander's pitch count, deadpanning: "He's rested for two
years." ... Twins 3B Joe Crede, signed to a one-year contract
for $2.5 million plus playing-time escalators, has met his first
incentive. He gets $500,000 for 250 plate appearances. If he
reaches 540 plate appearances, he will make $7 million this
season.]]></description>
				<category><![CDATA[mlb]]></category>
				<link>http://areyouwatchingthis.com/mlb/news/105599-Morneau-Blackburn-lead-Twins-past-Tigers-6-2</link>
				<guid>http://areyouwatchingthis.com/mlb/news/105599-Morneau-Blackburn-lead-Twins-past-Tigers-6-2</guid>
				<pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:25:04 GMT</pubDate>
			</item>
		
			<item>
				<title><![CDATA[Tigers-Twins Preview]]></title>
				<description><![CDATA[By MATT BEARDMORE
STATS Writer

Detroit (44-35) at Minnesota (41-40), 2:10 p.m. EDT

The Detroit Tigers' Rick Porcello has been spectacular at times
during his rookie season. The 20-year-old right-hander, though,
isn't getting ahead of himself.

Porcello tries to lead the AL Central-leading Tigers to their
first road series win in nearly a month as they close out a
nine-game trip against the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.

Porcello (8-5, 3.90 ERA) came into his last start 7-1 with a
2.53 ERA over his previous 10 outings, but struggled in a 7-1
loss to Oakland on Monday. He lasted just 4 1-3 innings,
yielding five runs and a season-high nine hits.

"There's a lot for me to learn," said Porcello, who had won his
previous four road starts. "I'll take what I can out of it and
move on. The biggest thing is to keep working at it and be
better next time."

Porcello will be making his second start against the Twins. He
dominated them in the first matchup, giving up four hits over
seven innings of a 9-0 win May 5 at Comerica Park.

After an 11-9, 16-inning victory in the series opener Friday,
Detroit (44-36) was on its way to another win Saturday when
Magglio Ordonez hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh.
However, Justin Morneau hit a tying solo home run in the bottom
of the inning and Nick Punto had the winning single in the
eighth as the Twins (42-40) defeated the Tigers 4-3.

"You play that many innings (Friday), it's a great bounce back
to come and win this ballgame," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire
said after his team snapped a three-game slide at home.

Detroit is 3-5 on its trip and has dropped four straight series
on the road since taking three of five from the Chicago White
Sox from June 8-11.

The Tigers will face Nick Blackburn (6-4, 3.10), who lost his
last two starts. The right-hander didn't pitch badly in those
outings, giving up five earned runs in 14 innings, but allowed
21 hits in the two games.

"I was a little off early, but made pretty good adjustments
late," Blackburn said after throwing six innings and giving up
three runs - two earned - in a 4-2 defeat at Kansas City on
Monday.

Blackburn makes just his second start at the Metrodome since May
26. He is 3-0 with a 2.61 ERA in six starts at home.

He yielded a career-high nine runs - six earned - over 3 1-3
innings of the May 5 loss in Detroit. Blackburn is 1-2 with a
4.70 ERA in four career starts versus the Tigers.

Ordonez is 3 for 6 in this series after going 2 for 20 in his
previous five contests. He is batting .326 with 14 homers and 69
RBIs in 78 games at the Metrodome.

Twins catcher Joe Mauer has recorded at least a hit in 13
straight home games against the Tigers, batting .462 (24 for 52)
with a homer and 14 RBIs during that stretch.

Morneau has hit .390 with three home runs and 17 RBIs as
Minnesota has won 10 of 14 against Detroit at the Metrodome.]]></description>
				<category><![CDATA[mlb]]></category>
				<link>http://areyouwatchingthis.com/mlb/news/105522-Tigers-Twins-Preview</link>
				<guid>http://areyouwatchingthis.com/mlb/news/105522-Tigers-Twins-Preview</guid>
				<pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2009 02:31:18 GMT</pubDate>
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