Brian Duensing returns to form as Minnesota Twins shutout Tampa Bay Rays 7-0 – MLB Update
Brian Duensing’s valuable return to form was enough for the Minnesota Twins to crush the Tampa Bay Rays 7-0 at the Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Monday, July 4.
Duensing threw a career-high 119 pitches to record his second complete game shut-out of his Major League career. Recovering from a shaky start, Duensing ended his nine innings of pitching with just six hits and four walks. He struck-out seven batters to
take the current season’s tally of strike-outs to 68 and just below the 200-mark with 192 career strike-outs. Duensing attained his sixth win of the season and it was much awaited to get his campaign underway, with seven losses already to his name.
David Price, the Rays’ starter was not seen in his customary form as he went all over the plate. He was ineffectual at the mound, giving away four runs and five hits in six innings of average pitching for his seventh loss this season. Cesar Ramos and Adam
Russell had a failed attempt of replacing Price at the mound as they gave away three runs in the two-combined-innings they pitched in. The capacity crowd at the Target Field was enough pressure for the Rays to go down. The manner, however, was not expected.
Danny Valencia made good work of the Rays’ pitchers. He connected three times, getting two runs and three RBIs. Valencia, Jason Repko and Matt Tolbert added runs in the second inning for the Twins to take a commanding lead.
Michael Cuddyer then made his presence felt at the Target Field. He got his first selection in the All-Star team and he showed exactly why. He scored his 12th home-run in the third inning with a mammoth 391-feet skier. His show did not end here,
as he partnered with Joe Mauer and Valencia in the eighth inning to add three more to the total on Danny’s home-run effort. The Tampa Bay Rays looked pitiful and out-of-sorts at the mauling they had received at the hands of the Twins.
After the game, Duensing stated that his performance will definitely prove to boost up his confidence after his previous four outings had been fruitless. He gave away 14 earned runs in the previous four starts.
The Twins have made an impressive start to the three-game series with a shut-out of the Rays. Playing on the road, the Rays need to regroup and reproduce their form from the first-half of the season in the second-half.
The Rays are 47-38 for the season while the Twins lag behind at 37-46. With the next game scheduled for Tuesday, July 5 it will be interesting to see how Tampa Bay responds.
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