MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ― Maybe the Minnesota Twins should wait until the night before to tell Brian Duensing he’s starting.
This short-notice outing sure went well.
Justin Morneau hit a two-run homer, Duensing threw six smooth innings as a late fill-in for Francisco Liriano and the Minnesota Twins finished a three-game sweep of the Cleveland Indians with a 5-1 victory on Sunday.
Duensing’s Twitter followers started asking him if he was starting after the Liriano trade was finalized late Saturday night with the Chicago White Sox. Weird, he thought. Well, he went to the team’s website and saw the news. Then he sent a text message to pitching coach Rick Anderson to confirm it.
“He said, ‘Yeah,’ and asked if I was OK with it,” Duensing said. “I’m not going to say no.”
Boston Red Sox shortstop Pedro Ciriaco completes a double play in the third inning on Sunday. (AP-Yonhap News)
Duensing (2-6) lost all four of his previous starts this year, but he needed only 70 pitches to finish six frames and yield to the bullpen after scattering five singles without a walk, giving up one run and striking out two.
Greinke outdone in Angels debut
ANAHEIM, California (AP) ― Zack Greinke’s first pitch in a Los Angeles Angels uniform was lined to left field for a single by Desmond Jennings, who had never faced him in a regular-season game.
Greinke shrugged it off and pitched his usual game, although his run support was nonexistent thanks to Jeremy Hellickson and Tampa Bay’s bullpen. Greinke was outpitched by Hellickson in a 2-0 loss on Sunday, two days after the Angels acquired the 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner from Milwaukee.
Detroit 4, Toronto 1
Miami 5, San Diego 4
Baltimore 6, Oakland 1
Atlanta 6, Philadelphia 2
Houston 9, Pittsburgh 5
Washington 11, Milwaukee 10
Chicago Cubs 4, St. Louis 2
Cincinnati 7, Colorado 2
LA Dodgers 4, San Francisco 0
Seattle 7, Kansas City 6
NY Mets 5, Arizona 1
Texas 2, Chicago White Sox 0
Boston 3, NY Yankees 2