The Twins defeated the Angels, 4-3, as Joe Blanton took another loss. Blanton, who allowed all four Minnesota runs and nine hits in just 3 2/3 innings, fell to 2-13 (.154), the second-lowest winning percentage among the 113 big-leaguers with at least 10 decisions this season. Shaun Marcum recently took a 1-10 (.091) record with him to the Mets disabled list. Blanton gave up a fourth-inning home run to Clete Thomas on Monday night, the 10th straight game in which Blanton has surrendered a home run. Last season, while pitching for the Phillies, Blanton allowed a home run in each of 11 consecutive games. He is only the second pitcher in major-league history to have a double-digit streak of games allowing home runs in each of two consecutive seasons; he joins Hall-of-Famer Bert Blyleven, who endured home-runs-allowed streaks of 11 games in 1986 and of 14 games in 1987, while with the Twins.
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J.J. Hardy‘s 17th home run of the season capped a four-run sixth inning that propelled the Orioles to a 9-2 victory at Kansas City. The American League’s starting All-Star shortstop has hit 69 home runs, all while playing as a shortstop, in his three seasons with Baltimore, by far the most by any big-league shortstop over that span. (Troy Tulowitzki stands at distant second, with 55.) Hardy’s homers have maintained the Orioles’ power-hitting tradition at that position. Since 1982 (Cal Ripken Jr.’s first season as the team’s regular shortstop), Orioles shortstops have hit a total of 622 home runs, by far the most for any major-league team’s shortstops; second place belongs to the Brewers, with 460 homers from their shortstops – 75 of which were hit by Hardy from 2005 to 2009!
Seriously? We traded Hardy and Brendan Harris to Baltimore for Jim Hoey and Brett Jacobson? Goes down in the annals as one of the Twins worst trades in history. Aargh!