¡VIVA RIVAS!

Well, I can't say I'm surprised. Like I told my bro' before the game, I just didn't have a good feeling about this game. It's tough enough to sweep the Sox at their park, and to try to do so with 2006 Silva on the mound is nearly impossible. To the Chief's credit, he seemed to have his sinker ball going as he induced several double plays -- unfortunately he also had his meat ball humming to the tune of 3 HR. (He now the leads the league in that category)
Silva seemed to have turned a corner after the All-Star break, but now he's made two straight poor starts, which doesn't bode well for the Twins' battered rotation.
However, Silva wins my Twins MVP award today for nailing AJ right in the ass to load the bases. AJ didn't react even though it was obviously intentional, probably because he knew he had it coming. In his next at bat, AJ earned himself a rain check for another ball in the ribs for the Twins-Sox next series with yet another bat flip after a HR. (Souhan noted his antics this weekend as well http://www.startribune.com/150/story/639086.html)
What made the hit-by-pitch a little more satisfying is that we were going to walk AJ to load the bases anyway, so Silva just saved himself 3 pitches and planted a fastball into AJ. When was the last time you saw a strategic hit-by-pitch?
Another good sign was that Reyes and Rincon bounced back from their shaky outings last night and pitched effectively. Gardy ran them out there right away hoping to get their confidence back up and it worked.