JUNE 25, 2009 -- MINNESOTA 6, MILWAUKEE 4

The Twins pick up a nice win in Milwaukee, winning two out of three games at Miller Park. That seems to be the protocol for the Twins against the Brewers the last few years -- they've fared quite well against their neighbors to the east. Scott Baker pitches five solid innings and then hits the wall like he usually does in the middle innings. Fortunately, the Twins lead was such that his two home-run, three-run sixth inning did not give up the lead, and the Twins would tack on a couple of runs the following inning and extend the lead to a safe 6-3 margin. Denard Span had a marvelous return from the disabled list, reaching base four times and really providing that spark that was desperately missing for two weeks. Brendan Harris was doing a fine job there until Ron Gardenhire inexplicably changed things up and put one of his worst players in that spot (either Matt Tolbert or Carlos Gomez). Span is really the only guy on the team who's a natural fit in the lead-off position, and him being healthy means that Ron Gardenhire doesn't have to exercise any more of the all-too seldom brain cells that he has in order to decide who will lead off. For those who didn't think Span was invaluable to the team were supremely educated on Thursday. The Twins won't be winning a division title this season, but Span's presence can at the very least preserve a .500 record.

The bullpen has continued to pitch decent enough, and Ron Gardenhire surprised me by putting R.A. Dickey into the game in the seventh inning. All indications are that it might be Dickey after all who could assume the role that Luis Ayala had on the club (seventh-inning guy), and it appears that Dickey is not as hellbent on extending leads as Ayala apparently was. He's a junkballer, yes, but he's been an effective one at that, and he might as well assume the eighth inning role as well. Matt Guerrier's been garnering some favorable press as of late, but let's remember that he started last season off pretty well too. The cookie that Guerrier threw to Ryan Braun in the eighth inning -- you could see Braun's eyes pop when he saw that pitch -- that's the real Guerrier, folks. He cannot be trusted with leads; well, apparently Ron Gardenhire has faith in Guerrier. He had so much faith last year in Guerrier that he chose the right-hander to be the guy to block them from making the post-season. The frequency of which Gardenhire chose to put the ragged-armed Guerrier into close ballgames last year should raise red flags to gambling monitors. By September if Guerrier was brought into the game it was 100% certain that he was giving up runs. The lingering resentment of one lost division title is the main reason that Guerrier has a permanent spot in The Doghouse, and even if he pitches to a 1.50 ERA this season, he's there for life.

Now the Twins will stop in St. Louis for a three-game series, and will be playing their first games in the New Busch Stadium, which if anything is good for the Twins. The Old Busch Stadium was a bit of a nightmare for Tom Kelly, who went 2-10 there (including, of course, the 1987 World Series). Ron Gardenhire will be managing against the Cardinals for the first time in his career, and it's a long time coming, because Tony LaRussa is probably the manager that Gardy takes after the most. It's LaRussa, after all, that is primarily responsible for introducing the concept of the modern bullpen to the game, wherein the team's designated closer rarely goes more than one inning per appearance, and set-up men, previously a role unheard of, bridged the gap from the starter to the closer. It's revolutionized the game, and no doubt LaRussa has his critics, but you can't argue with two World Series championships, five Series appearances, and umpteen playoff appearances. Pretty sure Ron Gardenhire won't touch that.