How do you spell S-W-E-E-P?

Well that's a nice surprise. After another Kubel HR, the first good outing of the year for Carlos Silva, and Joe Nathan getting the Twins out of some late trouble, the Twins earned the sweep over the Boston Red Sox with a 5-3 victory Thursday.

The most encouraging thing about the game, by far, was a sign that maybe Carlos Silva is ready to get back into the form that made him so effective last year. His 6 scoreless innings lowered his ERA from 7.73 to 7.07. Granted, 7.07 still isn't good, but it's a heck of a lot better than 7.73. He gave up 7 hits and struck out 2, but again, true to last year's form, didn't walk anyone.

Grady's been criticized by me and others in the past, so it's only proper to give him credit when credit is due. I love the fact that he brought in Nathan in the 8th when the bases were loaded. Sure, it wasn't a conventional save situation in which Nathan is usually saved for, but regardless of inning, it was the most important part of the game, with the bases loaded, no out, and the 4-5-6 hitters coming up. Bravo to Gardy for bringing Nathan in there, which eventually resulted in Nathan's 8th save.

Also congrats to Jason Kubel, who homered in his 3rd straight game. He's now batting .291 with a .321 OBP and .506 SLG in 79 AB. He could stand to take a couple more walks, but it's great to see a little bit of power from him. Once again, I beg you Gardy, leave him in LF when Stewart comes back!

Anyway, the sweep puts their record at 31-34, 11 games behind the Tigers. They now head to Pittsburgh for a 3-game set.

As an added note, I'll be gone for the weekend, so I apologize to both of my readers when I say that the blog won't be update until Sunday or Monday! Maybe this will bring the Twins more good luck!