There were no smoke and mirrors needed on Sunday as the Twins got a legitimately good pitching effort from Mike Pelfrey against a bad Brewers team and it was enough to avoid getting swept by the team with the worst record in the majors.

The good news is a number of other good teams have stumbled recently so the Twins still have the best record in the AL.

Fortunately, the Twins aren't blind to some of the underlying problems. After the game, the Twins demoted Danny Santana to Rochester and called up Kennys Vargas. That means the Twins only have the Eduardo's to play shortstop, with Escobar getting the starting nod. The guess here is that another middle infielder will be called up (probably Bernier) when the Twins decide they are recovered from the doubleheader and the ensuing bullpen game on Saturday enough to go back to "just" a 12-man pitching staff.

More efforts like Pelfrey's on Sunday will speed up the process. He had 7 Ks and 1 semi-intentional walk in 8 innings. he did give up 1 hit an inning, but it was never more than 1 and the defense helped him stay in the game longer with three double plays plus one great diving catch by Nunez to prevent a double down the line that would have put the tying run in scoring position with two outs in the eighth inning.

Glen Perkins closed it out with another save. He's 21-for-21. I'm a little surprised this isn't receiving more hype than it is. The bullpen has a nice shiny ERA overall, but Perkins is the only real dominant pitcher in the bullpen. At least manager Paul Molitor has recognized that enough to bring him in twice for four-out saves. Hopefully, the Twins won't be slow to make changes when they are needed, especially with some legitimate power arms in the minors.

Up next for the Twins will be the Royals in a battle for first place. The Royals have been using their own smoke-and-mirror act this season. The Twins are the only team in the AL with less strikeouts than the Royals, who somehow still sport the league's second-best ERA.