MVN - Most Valuable Network

Blackburn just lost it

For five innings, there was a pitching duel between Nick Blackburn and ex-Twin Sidney Ponson.

Then, the wheels came off as Blackburn struggled in the sixth inning.

As a result, the Texas Rangers scored 7 runs in that inning. After being blown out by the Twins Tuesday night, the Rangers returned the favor by blasting the Twins, 10-1, Wednesday night at the Metrodome.

The Twins are back at .500 with this loss as they are 23-23 for the season.

For whatever reason, Blackburn just did not have it in the sixth. He lost his command in that inning as he could not find the strike zone.

He started the sixth by falling behind to Michael Young, and Young then homered off him to give Texas a 1-0 lead.

Blackburn had a chance to get a double play, but Alexi Casilla could not catch the ball to form a double play so Blackburn had two runners on base.

What makes Blackburn successful is that he is good at not letting anything get to him on the mound, but on this night, he never recovered after Young’s home run and the failed double play.

Gerald Laird got the big hit off Blackburn with runners at first and third, and Texas was able to score the second run of the game.

The first-year starter had a chance to get out of the inning with a 2-0 lead, but the Rangers broke it open by scoring two more runs off him.

Ian Kinsler’s three run home run was the final nail of the coffin for Blackburn and the Twins.

The lead was good enough for Ponson, who pitched a complete game, to shut down his former team.

Blackburn has been good for the most part so far, but he is going to have nights like this. It happens to great starters. It certainly happens to first-year starters.

The question is this.

How will Blackburn bounce back from this start?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 21st, 2008 at 10:29 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.