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Minnesota Twins starter Nick Blackburn took the hill he earned a hospital visit after a line drive glanced off of his nose. Tonight, he will put all jitters aside in the opener of a four-game series against the
Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.
In the fifth inning of Sunday's 5-1 win at Yankee Stadium, New York outfielder Bobby Abreu ripped a hard liner that deflected off of Blackburn's glove and hit him in the nose. Blackburn went down before quickly getting to his feet with blood trickling from his face. X-rays taken at a local hospital were negative, but Blackburn suffered a bruised lip and face.
Blackburn allowed one run and five hits in 4 1/3 innings for the no-decision. He is now 4-3 with a 3.32 earned run average in 12 starts this season. The young right-hander is 1-1 in three starts against Chicago this season, and 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA in four career games (three starts) in the series with the White Sox.
Minnesota is 2 1/2 games behind the White Sox for the top spot in the AL Central Division and will kick off a 10-game road trip Friday in the Windy City. It will also visit Cleveland and Milwaukee, and owns a 12-13 road mark in 2008.
The Twins completed a seven-game homestand with a 3-4 mark and dropped two of three games to the Baltimore Orioles at the Metrodome. In Thursday's 3-2 loss in the series finale, starter Scott Baker was activated from the disabled list prior to the game and posted a no-decision by yielding two runs in five frames. Reliever Brian Bass suffered the loss, surrendering a run in two innings.
Alexi Casilla and Mike Redmond had three hits and an RBI apiece in defeat.
Chicago is coming off a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals to begin a seven-game homestand. It entered the KC series having dropped three straight to the Tampa Bay Rays and manager Ozzie Guillen losing his cool. But so far the White Sox have managed to come together, as they posted the sweep with a 6-2 victory on Thursday.
Jim Thome homered and scored twice, while Pablo Ozuna ended with a pair of hits and an RBI for the Pale Hose, who improved to 16-9 at home this season. Nick Swisher and Alexei Ramirez each ended with an RBI. Starter Jose Contreras got the win by limiting the Royals to just one run in seven innings.
Taking the mound for the White Sox tonight will be Javier Vazquez, who is 5-4 with a 3.43 ERA in 12 starts this season. Vazquez has dropped three of his last five decisions, including a May 31 appearance at Tampa Bay on May 31. He allowed a pair of runs and five hits in seven innings of a 2-0 setback.
The righty beat Minnesota on April 7 this season, hurling seven decent innings of three-run ball in a 7-4 triumph. Vazquez improved to 5-5 with a 4.75 ERA in 14 career starts against the Twins.
The Twins are 4-3 against the White Sox this season, with Chicago clinging to a 3-2 advantage at home.
