Carl Pavano beats Red Sox, continues to thrive for Twins

Ron Gardenhire said before this afternoon’s Target Field opener that he was glad the Twins had Carl Pavano lined up for the start because the 34-year-old right-hander had pitched for the Marlins in the World Series and on a big stage with the Yankees. Yankees fans who watched his forgettable five-year stint in New York will probably get a chuckle out of that notion and it seems far-fetched to me too, but there’s denying how well Pavano has pitched since joining the Twins in the middle of last season. Acquired from the Indians in early August for mid-level pitching prospect Yohan Pino, Pavano tossed six innings of one-run ball against the Red Sox today and is now 7-4 with a 4.15 ERA and 69/17 K/BB ratio in 86.2 innings for the Twins. He also pitched well in his lone playoff start last October, holding the Yankees to a pair of runs over seven innings in a tough loss. Pavano’s name will forever bring up bad memories for Yankees fans and because of that he’ll probably never live down the reputation for being an oft-injured disappointment, but he hasn’t missed a start since 2008 and has reemerged as a very solid mid-rotation starter. Regardless of the size of the stage.