The big story tonight will be Dontrelle Willis making his 2009 debut for Detroit, but the Twins will be anxious to see if Glen Perkins can regain his early season form.

In his first three starts, Perkins went 1-1 with a 1.50 ERA, twirling eight-inning gems against the Mariners, Blue Jays and Angeles. In 24 innings, he didn’t allow a home run, and his WHIP was 0.67.

In his past three starts, Perkins is 0-1 with a 6.88 ERA. None of the efforts — against the Indians, Royals and Orioles – qualified as a quality start. In 17 innings, he allowed three home runs, with a WHIP of 1.53.

One of the defining moments of the Twins’ 2008 season came May 25, when Perkins held the Tigers to one run over 7 2/3 innings in a 6-1 victory at Comerica Park. One night earlier, Detroit pounded the Twins 19-3, and Perkins (still a rookie) brazenly told people he would pitch inside and tame the Tigers the following night.

Perkins delivered that day and wound up going 12-4 for the season, including 2-1 with a 2.73 ERA in four starts against the Tigers. They’ll be waiting for him tonight.

Note: Check back here this afternoon for tonight’s starting lineups.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 13th, 2009 at 12:13 pm 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.