Recap 5/21/2007 Twins 4. Rangers 14

One night after Ramon Ortiz got pounded Carlos Silva thought he'd try to one up his rotation mate. He succeeded. While Ortiz went 4 1/3 allowing 5 runs, Silva managed to cover the same distance and allow seven runs. Quite the triumph of ineptitude I must say. The difference between tonight and last night was that Silva's replacement wasn't the solid Matt Guerrier, it was AAA callup Julio DePaula who got tagged for seven more runs in his inning of work. By the time the dust had settled the Twins had allowed 14 runs in runs in six innings, including eight in the disastrous fifth.

Beyond that I'm really not certain what to say. After a few good games in Milwaukee the offense wasn't completely inept against the Rangers Vincente Padilla, but they certainly weren't great as they missed multiple opportunities to score runs including a golden chance in the first innings when Castillo and Punto both reached base with no one out. Of course resident sluggers cum choke artists Michael Cuddyer and Justin Morneau summarily struck out before Torii Hunter drove in Castillo with a chopper through the middle. The Twins would score another run on a Morneau single, a passed ball and a ground out by Punto. Once again however, they failed to record a single extra base hit. The Rangers by contract had 8.

While all of this may have been bad, Silva getting shelled, DePaula getting shelled worse, the offense being miserable... The real pain from tonight's game came when Glen Perkins, one of the Big Four pitching prospects reached to the back of his left arm in the eighth inning and left the game with what the team initially called a cramp. It wasn't a cramp though and according to Joe Christensen of the Star Tribune Perkins is headed to the DL for about two weeks with what Rangers trainer Dr. Keith Meister called a strained teres major muscle. Whatever that happens to be. What that will mean for the Twins with Reyes being completely ineffective means the Twins are without a lefty in the pen for at least a couple days. Maybe longer.

The other side effect of course is that as Silva and Ortiz begin to show their true colors after a brilliant first month, and relievers begin dropping like flies with injuries the Twins find themselves suddenly thin on arms with the only real option being to begin calling up the rest of the Big Four which is now just Slowey and Garza, both of whom Gardenhire has adamantly stated will be used only as starters. At this point the twins really are only one more injury in the bullpen away from crisis and it will be interesting to see how they manage the situation. One particularly intriguing question is whether or not the Twins will end up giving Jose Mijares from New Britain a shot as he's been tearing up AA.