Philadelphia at Twins. Twins 6, Phillies 1

For a few games early this season, Carlos Silva became Carlos the Jackal, assassinating hitters with his weighty sinker. Who needed Eric Milton when you had The Jackal, plus the Pint (Nick Punto) for good measure? But Batgirl's Phillies sources said it couldn't last, and indeed it did not. Suddenly, in the Bitch Sox series Silva transformed back into the pitcher the Phillies traded, an inconsistent long-relief guy--a Venezuelan Terry Mulholland without the weird facial hair.

But last Sunday against Detroit Carlos became the Jackal again, keeping the Tigers to two runs and setting in motion a sorely-needed Twins win streak—and a string of quality starts by our starting ro'. (See guys? We knew you could do it! Chin up! Positive attitude!) Then today against the team who let him go, Carlos stood on the mound, shot a steely gaze to the Phillies' dugout, and drawled, "You want to see the Jackal? I'll show you the Jackal." He struck out the side in the first inning, and ended up with a career high eight K's for the night. He would have gotten a shut-out had it not been for Jim Thome, but homeruns to Jim Thome should really not count, should they? It's hardly fair.

"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig."

Meanwhile, the Twins executed some beautiful clutch hitting, scoring four runs in the fourth and two in the seventh with two out. Perennial whipping boys Rivas and Guzie accounted for most of that offense and allowed themselves a day respite. Rivas helped his homeboy Carlos by going 3 for 4 with a triple, two RBIs, and one stolen base, while Guzie was 3-5 with one RBI and two stolen bases (although one of them might not have been the best call Terry Craft has ever made. Umpires are people too, you know.)

Oh, and speaking of assassins, I don't know what Boo Berry Rincon is eating for breakfast, but he really should share it with everyone else. This last week, our little Boo has pitched like some sort of ectoplasmic crazy person, striking out, you know, everyone. It's freaky.