MAY 3, 2009 -- KANSAS CITY 7, MINNESOTA 5

Scott Baker takes a no-hitter into the seventh inning, promptly loses the no-no, the shutout, and the game within five batters. The Brain brings Luis Ayala yet again and again he delivers the Matt Guerrier Special. Ayala is doing his best towards renaming the Matt Guerrier Special after himself, as he continues to show Twins fans that he consistently gives up hits. Today it’s Alberto Callaspo (who?) that drives home the winning double in the seventh.

Then it’s the R.A. Dickey show, and for the second game in a row, Dickey turns a close game into an insurmountable lead for the Royals. In the eighth, Dickey gives up the critical insurance run to make it 6-4 (a seventh run was cut down at home plate). For some reason Dickey starts the ninth and gives up another run, making it a three-run game with Soria coming into the game in the bottom of the ninth. The Twins scratch together a run, but, thanks to R.A. Dickey, the gap was too large to make up. You know it’s bad for a Twins fan when you’re begging to see Matt Guerrier come into the game.

Let’s not forget that the Twins did get four runs off of nemesis Gil Meche. “Seldom” Delmon Young came through with an RBI hit, and Justin Morneau had three hits. Joe Mauer delivered a meaningless pinch-hit RBI single in the ninth, putting his season average at an astounding .700. The Twins do have a pretty decent lineup, notwithstanding constant rally killers Carlos Gomez, Nick Punto, and Alexi Casilla. Brendan Harris rightfully started at second base on Sunday, and Seldom Delmon started in left field and produced a few hits. Though Young is very much deserving of my not-so-affectionate nickname, he is leagues better than Carlos Gomez, who belongs in Double-A. A lineup with Harris and Young rounds out the lineup pretty well; it’s a real good National League batting order when you consider Nick Punto batting ninth is comparable to the pitcher hitting. In reality, pitchers Yovani Gallardo of the Brewers or the C.C. Sabathia of the Yankees are better offensive threats than Nick Punto.

Scott Baker pitched pretty well through six innings; his no-hit effort was deceiving, as some balls were getting hit pretty hard, and he had only one ground-ball out through six innings. Combined with Francisco Liriano, the Twins’ 1-2 starters are now a combined 0-8 through the first twenty-five games of the season. This statistic actually can give Twins fans some hope – seeing as the Twins are only a game under .500 and Baker and Liriano are eight games under .500, it is reasonable to expect that trend not to continue. Once these two pitchers get back on track, expect the Twins’ record to improve.

The Twins get ready to go on the road for four games: two in Detroit, two in Baltimore. The quirky schedule means that the only time the Twins visit the Orioles are for two games at one of the best ballparks in the country.