More Kubel!

• Jason Kubel homers twice in Twins' 7-1 victory over Cleveland

Jason Kubel apparently wants to remain in the cleanup spot once Mauer returns to the lineup (which might be as early as Tuesday), blasting a pair of home runs in today's game against the Indians.  Kubel's been on a tear recently, batting .316/.350/.789 in his past five games, with an OPS of 1.139 and, of course, a pair of home runs. And then there was this performance against the Angels.  Kubel has certainly been batting like a cleanup-hitter, but leaving him in that spot means that the Twins would have four left-handed hitters in a row.  Which actually might not be much of a problem.  The M&M boys certainly hit lefties pretty well (though not as well as righties), and lead off hitter Denard Span has had a lot of success against left-handed pitching, too.  Still, I can't imagine Ron Gardenhire going with such a lefty-centric lineup for any extended period of time, so most likely Mauer will bat third and everyone else will move down in the lineup.

• Oh, yeah, Kevin Slowey pitched ok, too

Actually, he was masterful.  Painting the corners. Changing speeds. Throwing his breaking pitches whenever he felt like it (even on a 3-2 count), and just doing all of the little things necessary to keep hitters off balance.  Slowey shut out the Indians for eight innings, giving up just eight hits and striking out seven.  The lone Cleveland run came in the ninth, when Slowey was lifted after giving up three straight hits to load the bases.  Luis Ayala came in and surrendered an RBI single to Kelly Shoppach before getting Tony Graffanino to ground into a game-ending double play.

It appears as though the pitching staff has finally figured out the secret to winning games:  keeping the ball in the ballpark.  Oh, and not walking anybody, either.  That always helps.  Nick Blackburn pitched a gem of his own against Cleveland on Friday, allowing one run on six hits in seven innings, without walking anybody or giving up a home run.  Although, Blackburn kind of owns the Indians, so I guess his performance wasn't all that surprising.  Still, after watching the starters give up what seems like a gazillion home runs the past few weeks (and the most walks in the league so far this season), it was fun to watch a couple of well-pitched ballgames for a change.