The Sox Strike Back
When the Sox saw that John Danks would be matching up against minor league call-up Glenn Perkins Wednesday night they had to like their chances. Case-in-point; Danks held the Twins to one run over eight innings while the Sox knocked Perkins around for six in 4.2 innings. Although, it's not like the Sox did it all on their own. The Twins made an uncharacteristic two errors in those first five frames that cost them two unearned runs. Every manager around the league would say that to beat the Twins you have to play error-free baseball but, when the Piranha's are making errors, well that's just gravy.
Sox fans may look to Danks as the trump card against the hated Twins what with his win in the Black Out game in 2008 and now Wednesday night's performance but, truth be told, that's not how Danks feels. "I actually hate pitching against the Twins. I'm not gonna lie to you," Danks said after the game. "Look at the numbers. They're my team that I've struggled against. You know, I feel like I've had some better games here lately but they're still a tough team. Especially right now. They're swinging the bats great."
Thing is, John's right. He's just 6-6 against the Twins in his career (including Wednesday night) with a 5.01 ERA. That said, given the way he's been pitching of late, Ozzie Guillen would be hard pressed to find a better starter should this season go to another 163rd game. Danks is 5-1 with a 2.45 ERA in his last seven starts and, counting Wednesday, has allowed two runs or less in 16 of his 22 starts this season.
