Dave Cokin
Bonus Play Wednesday 05:10 PM MLB
(975) MINNESOTA TWINS at (976) KANSAS CITY ROYALS
Take: (975) MINNESOTA TWINS
The Royals can’t do much wrong these days. They’re playing inspired ball, and finding ways to win even when they look dead in the water, as was the case on Tuesday evening. But no one wins ‘em all, and I think we’ve got a great shot to knock off the sizzling Royals tonight.
Phil Hughes is having a superb season for Minnesota. I figured Hughes to do somewhat better getting out of the Bronx. He was a terrible fit for Yankee Stadium, and let’s face it, the Big Apple is an absolute pressure cooker that can absolutely get the best of some players regardless of their chosen sport. But I can’t say I expected anything resembling what we’ve seen from Hughes this season. He’s a legit Top 25 pitcher right now. There’s not a thing phony about his numbers, and he’s pitching at an ace level. There’s no way I saw that coming, and I doubt there’s many who did.
Hughes rates a commanding advantage tonight as he squares off with Liam Hendriks. Hendriks is subbing for Yordano Ventura, who got scratched with a back flareup. Even a broken clock is right twice each day, so anything is possible. But Hendriks has never shown that he can get big league hitters out on a regular basis. The interesting thing with Hendriks is that he appears to have good enough stuff to be a serviceable big league commodity, either at the back end of a rotation or more likely out of the pen. But just as I believe that Hughes was mentally fried pitching in New York, it could be that it’s what’s between the ears that has stymied Hendriks.
I’m sure Hendricks would love to knock off the Twins. That’s the team that drafted him and basically just gave up on him, so there’s major motivation here. But Hughes is on a monster roll right now and the Twins appear to play with more focus when their ace is on the mound.
Whether or not this makes my personal card today is yet to be decided, as I’ll have to make an assessment once the number settles in. But Hughes has gotten me paid a few times this season, and he’s definitely in go with mode presently. If I don’t get priced out, the Twins will be on my ticket as I’m more than willing to keep firing on Hughes.