Bring out the Brooms...and parka's

The Twins today are going for the early season series sweep of the Kansas City Royals.


It's a special day for the Twins because Francisco Liriano will make his 2008 season debut. Liriano, who has spent the past year recovering from Tommy John surgery, has a lot to prove today.

He has to show that he can still be the dominant pitcher who was 12-3 in his rookie season before going down with the ruptured elbow ligament.

They Royals have a respectable offense but they are on a 26 inning scoreless streak. Liriano may not be the right man to try and get back on track against.


First pitch will be at 1:10. Check back here later for updates.

Twins Line-up:

1. Carlos Gomez, CF

2. Brendan Harris, 2B

3. Jason Kubel, DH

4. Justin Morneau, 1B

5. Delmon Young, LF

6. Mike Lamb, 3B

7. Mike Redmond, C

8. Denard Span, RF

9. Adam Everett, SS


Brian Bannister will be starting for the Royals

A win in the Windy City

The Twins, who have been struggling as of late (aka, the past 3 or 4 years) to score runs, finally showed off some of the power that they've been hoping to see.

Jason Kubel, filling in for the injured Michael Cuddyer in right field, had yet another big night at U.S. Cellular field as he went 2-4 with a grand slam and 6 RBI's. Leading the Twins to a 12-4 win and a 4-5 record and snapping the White Sox win streak at 4.

Kubel, who is known for having big games at U.S. Cellular against the White Sox, did it yet again last night.

"I love this place," Kubel said. "I feel like I can pretty much go anywhere on this field."

We are glad to see Jason Kubel excelling because any Twins fan knows that Kubel has the potential to be a 20+ home run hitter but his injuries and odd managing decisions have stunted him a little bit.

But promising words from Gardenhire makes it seem as if Kubel could see good time at DH when Cuddyer comes back or even consistent time in right as Cuddyer heals

"I really believe this guy can hit," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He's going to get plenty of opportunities this year. ... I think he's healthy in his knees now, we don't hear about that anymore, and now it's time for him to get the at-bats and go. Run with it."

The Twins, this year, have the biggest potential for power that this team has seen in years. Mauer (not known for HR's but he has the ability), Morneau, Cuddyer, Young, Harris, Kubel, Lamb and even Craig Monroe has hit for power before. This, coupled with Carlos Gomez's blazing speed, could turn this team around offensively.

Tonight's game features Livan Hernandez vs. Jose Contreras. Hopefully the Twins can start getting consistent offense this year. If not, look for the Twins to struggle getting runs tonight.

On another note, the Wild lost in an OT thriller last night to the Avs on a Joe Sakic goal. This team has heart...but they need to start converting it into wins. They fell into a 2-0 hole early and battled back by scoring two goals in the 3rd period.

Sakic, who already owns the record for most OT goals in the playoffs at 8, may be in his final season. This is definitely a good way to start the playoffs for the Avs.

Game 2 is Friday at 8pm.

Things are starting to get hectic here at the end of the school year, so bear with us here as we will try and get you Twins updates as well as other updates from around the sports world.

Have a great Thursday!