Biggest story of the evening is a 1A/1B type of deal. Two of the Twins' young outfielders, Aaron Hicks and Eddie Rosario, provided some real excitement on the offensive side of the ball to help stop a four-game losing streak - the longest such streak at home this season.

Hicks, batting in the 2-spot, went 3-4 including a HR, with a BB, RBI and 2 Runs scored. It was his fifth consecutive multi-hit game. He's hitting .365/.443/.608 for July.

Rosario was a single short of the cycle, having homered in the 1st, doubled in the 3rd and tripled in the 5th. He scorched a liner to center in the 6th and was robbed of a single by the SS, Brad Miller, with one out in the 8th. Miller made a very nice play and Eddie doffed his helmet* and smiled his way unbelievingly back to the dugout. He finished the night 3-5 with a team-high .294 WPA.

All told, there were 5 HR's hit last night between the teams, with Hughes giving up two. Phil (10-6, 4.11 ERA, 4.58 FIP & 1.253 WHIP) is beginning to enter the "obligatory" territory with HR's in all but four of his starts this year and his 8th game giving up multiple homeruns. His 1.7 HR/9 this season is the worst of his career (1.2 HR/9 career average), though he continues to lead the league in limiting walks. Despite the five runs allowed by Hughes, the bullpen bucked their recent trend, allowing 0 Runs on 1 Hit over four innings of relief.

Finally, Jorge Polanco, filling in on the active roster for Trevor "Big Daddy" Plouffe!, had a nice game in his start at SS. He went 2-3 with a BB, RBI, Run and his first MLB Stolen Base. He committed 1 Error in the 8th, overthrowing 1st Base, and was the pivot man in the only double play of the game in the 9th.

*The Four-Letter coverage of the near-miss cycle made it seem as though Rosario was angry at Miller (not the case), dismissively suggesting that he should be happy with the 3 Hit, 3 Run, 3 RBI night - a "take it and siddown kid" kinda comment. Patronizing and stoopid.