DETROIT — After two excruciating losses against the Tigers, the Twins return home tonight to face Tampa Bay. The bullpen collapses on the just completed 3-4 road trip were well-documented, but it’s not all gloom and doom for the Twins.

Here are seven positives as they come off the road:

1. Joe Mauer snapped an 0-for-15 skid, drove home two runs last night and finished 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored.

2. Carlos Gomez also snapped his 0-for-15 skid with a first-inning broken-bat double, though he had head-scratching at-bats the rest of the night.

3. Justin Morneau slugged a two-run homer (his fourth of the season) giving the Twins a 4-1 lead in the sixth inning.

4. After the Twins fell behind 6-4 in the eighth, the Twins made things interesting in the ninth, as Delmon Young hit a triple that would have been a home run had Ryan Rayburn not reached over the fence and almost caught the ball.

5. Craig Monroe followed with a one-out, RBI single, his second hit of the night, raising his average to .211.

6. Scott Baker turned in a strong start for the Twins, missing a chance to go 3-0 when the Twins’ 4-3 lead was squandered.

7. Even though Jesse Crain blew the lead in the eighth, there were encouraging signs. I was stunned to see his fastball hitting 96 miles per hour. He threw some pretty good 89-mph sliders, too. Not bad for a guy who had surgery to repair his right labrum and rotator cuff less than a year ago.

“I just think every time I’m out there I’m going to get a little more comfortable,” he said. “I was on my fourth appearance, so you know hopefully I’ll keep on getting out there.”

Crain said he’s been feeling better the day after his outings, which is another step in his recovery. With Matt Guerrier and Pat Neshek struggling, the Twins could use another late-inning option.

Note: La Velle is back in our command post tonight, so check his blog later for the starting lineups.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 at 8:40 am and is filed under Twins thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.