Minnesota Twins annihilated by Cincinnati Reds 0-6 – MLB Update
Minnesota Twins were annihilated by Cincinnati Reds 0-6 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio on Sunday, June 23 in the second game of their three match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
Credit must be given to the starting pitcher Johnny Cueto who pitched with great control and accuracy to shutout the Twins.
Cueto allowed just three hits to win for the fourth time in June. The right handed pitcher has allowed just five runs with an impressive 1.47 ERA on the month.
Second baseman Brandon Phillips had a great time on the plate as he homered to centre in the fourth inning to put the Reds 2-0 ahead. Scott Rolen scored twice on Cueto’s hits to extend Reds’ lead to 5-0 in the sixth.
Twins’ relief pitcher Brian Duensing allowed four runs and four hits in just three innings to take his third loss of the season.
"That's what aces and All-Stars and potential Cy Young Award winners do," manager Dusty Baker said.
"We have incredible confidence in Johnny every time he touches the ball," Rolen said. "What I really liked, though, was even though we lost four games, I didn't notice anybody thinking we were really struggling or in a dire position of needing a win."
"I had a little bit more energy from seeing all of those people on the field," Cueto said in an interview.
"I've had a good year the last four days," Rolen joked. "I'm a bit more comfortable swinging the bat."
General Manager Terry Ryan and Manager Ron Gardenhire have some serious thinking to do ahead of the All Star Break. It will be interesting to see if the Twins can restore some of the lost pride in the finale of this series.
The Reds, on the other hand, will be delighted with their efforts in a game that was very important to them.
They are now sitting at the top of National League Central Division standings with 39-31 record and it will be interesting to see if they can beat the Twins in the finale to win the series.
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