Matt Garza was named to the U.S. Team for the All-Star Futures Game today, and perhaps that gave him a lift, as he delivered his most impressive outing in a month tonight for Class AAA Rochester.

He held Columbus to four hits in seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts and two walks. He is now 4-6 with a 3.41 ERA, with 89 strikeouts in 87 innings pitched.

Wow. La Velle and Souhan are going to have some fun writing about this one. That has to rank as the Twins’ most dramatic comeback of the season.

It’s pretty funny because we were grilling Gardenhire before the game about why Redmond bats sixth, behind Torii, instead of Kubel. Gardy talked about Redmond’s quality at-bats with men in scoring position. He should have just said, “Trust me. You’ll see in a few hours.”

Meantime, at Class AAA Rochester, Nick Blackburn has burst upon the scene with three consecutive pitching gems. He tossed a six-hit shutout tonight at the Red Wings defeated Louisville, 2-0. In his past three starts, here are Blackburn’s numbers: 3-0, 0.00 ERA, 26.0 IP, 0 R, 14 H, 0 BB, 15 K.

You folks have me speechless. It’s been a busy day, working ahead on a couple stories. I’m still catching up on the comments from that last post — 390, wow. I’ll come back to your thoughts soon.

Anyway, Justin Verlander completed a no-hitter against Milwaukee, a 4-0 victory for Detroit. That’s the first for the Tigers since Jack Morris tossed a no-no against the White Sox in 1984. La Velle tells me he watched every out of that game. 

And Jeff Manship is getting hit around tonight, pitching on the same night as Kevin Slowey. Here at the Dome, Slowey delivers another victory. His totals through three starts: 2-0, 3.71 ERA, 17 IP, 22 H, 11 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 6 K.

Update: I am an idiot. You guys are absolutely right about Manship tonight. One run, seven innings and a 1.49 ERA. And get this Manship fans: La Velle just told me he has it on good authority that Manship is moving on from Beloit in a matter of days. And, while we’re on the subject, how about Manship’s former Notre Dame teammate Jeff Samardzija getting shipped to the bullpen after going winless in his first 11 starts? Ah, shucks Cubs, what’s $5 million?

We interrupt this string of bad news on the injury front to bring you a Matt Garza update. He pitched well today in a 2-0 loss against Class AAA Norfolk. Garza’s line: 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. He fell to 2-4 with a 3.49 ERA.

Seth Stohs asked his blog’s readers to submit questions to Kevin Slowey, and the Twins uberprospect responded with some interesting answers. You’ll gain some real insight into Slowey’s intellect, and I think this was my favorite part:

In last July’s interactive Q&A, you wrote: “I feel like my report wouldn’t be anything to spectacular. Most likely reading something like…. Capable RHP who throws like a LHP. Won’t blow you away with his “stuff”. Solid-average FB, SL, average CB, CH. Shows command of the strike zone. 2-seam slight sink, 4-seam straight. Attacks hitters, tries to get ahead….. I think that’s about all the info that I’m at liberty to give out at the moment.”
How has it changed? Why so guarded? - Lonestar

Kevin Slowey: Haha, I did write that, and I think it’s still a pretty accurate report. As much as Id like to think otherwise, I’m still not a “power pitcher” and certainly don’t pitch like one. Since I last participated, I’ve really spent time working on my offspeed, so I might have to upgrade my CH to solid-average as opposed to just average, but otherwise I’m the same guy. As for the guarded bit, I had to put some sort of spin on my otherwise pedestrian report…don’t you think?

 

Call him a silent assassin then because that “pedestrian” arsenal has produced these numbers for Class AAA Rochester: 4-2, 1.46 ERA, 49.1 IP, 31 H, 3 BB, 44 K.