stringer bell

This ump has been much better than the last two veteran umpires behind the plate this week.

Would have been nice to turn two there. Looked like Polanco hesitated just a bit there.

50 pitches for Clevinger. Don't know if he'll make six tonight.

Just the way to go at it after your team scores you three runs. 1-2-3 on 10 pitches.

Would have liked to have seen one more hit, but a good inning nonetheless.

Hey, maybe we can get rid of Clevinger early....nah, doubt it.

Dobnak does what Dobnak does--throws strikes and depends on his fielders. 22 pitches though.

Thanks sampleSize and Happy Birthday!

Not getting much yet from Sanó, Donaldson or Garver. I hope they all get it going soon.

Avila does a good job behind the plate. Taylor Rogers is pretty good.

Pretty sure we’ll see Rogers for the 9th.

Why you don’t run in today’s game.

How tall is Wes Johnson? 4’9”?

Hit ‘em where they ain’t.

What happened to Sanó?

Looks like Hill is losing some command, but he retired the side in order anyway.

I guess I will believe in Baldelli's philosophy (until they lose a couple in a row). In such a short season, it is a tough call, but with such a daunting schedule right now, it's probably good to rest everyone. Plus, they just started playing real games less than a week ago.

You can continue the discussion of today's game on 7/29 Game Thread: http://twinsdaily.com/topic/39333-game-thread-72920-minnesota-twins-vs-st-louis-cardinals-710-cdt/

It is nice to have a lot of options. With something like 34 games in 35 days, it probably makes sense to give everyone days off. Also, there are quality players available to fill in. I'm excited to see Hill pitch, as well. What are the chances that he stays heathy for the duration of this season?

A quick reminder that there are openings for August to do game thread introductions. It's a short season and August is just around the corner. There are 30 games in the month, so exactly half of this abbreviated season will be August. If interested in doing an introduction, please send me a message and I'll add it to the google doc that has been set up. Thanks. Go Twins!

Any word on Thorpe’s injury? Lots of injuries to pitchers already this season.

I just checked his record and he is a year younger than Cruz, so it is quite possible he has played with and against a lot of veteran players.

Buffalo it is. I drove by the stadium last year. It looked nice enough. Facilities and lights? Well, the Jays will just have to make do.

All right! Baseball is back (kind of) and the Twins face Giolito. BTW, Tom, if memory serves, Giolito threw his gem at Target Field, not in the Windy City. I was at the game.

Kind of a Little League top of the fifth.