Bruce Chen Shines as Kansas City Royals shutout Minnesota Twins 1-0 – MLB Update
Kansas City Royals shutout Minnesota Twins 1-0 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri on Tuesday, June 5 in the opening game of their three match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
Bruce Chen, once again, showed what he is capable of as he outpitched his counterpart Francisco Liriano in a highly competitive game. In some ways, the win will be of great importance for Chen. Opposing hitters will have fear in their hearts whenever he will step onto the mound again.
In a display of some top quality pitching skills, the left hander made Minnesota’s batters run for their money all night, helping Kansas City securing a much needed win to level series at 1-1.
"He did a great job from the first inning on. He'd speed their bats up and slow them down," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "He had good tempo and he was banging strikes."
"Pitching is contagious. You say, 'You know what? Let's keep it going,'" said Chen. "This whole pitching staff is pushing each other."
Allowing just four hits with no walks, he won for the fifth time in his last six starts. It will be interesting to see if he can continue his impressive form throughout this year to post his career best season.
"He changed speeds well. He kept us off balance," said the Twins' Denard Span in an interview. "He threw a lot of different arm angles. He threw over the top, three quarters and a couple of times a sidearm with two strikes. He mixed it up."
Manager Ned Yost will also be very happy with the two year deal he made for the starter during the offseason as Chen is now proving just how valuable he is for the pitching attack.
Twins’ starting pitcher Liriano also put up a solid show, allowing only four hits in six innings but despite his stunning effort, the Twins were unable to find winning ways. Brayan Pena also played his part in Royals 1-0 win as he sent an RBI single to the left side of the infield in the second inning to score the only run of the game.
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