Antony impressed with success of bullpen

ST. PETERSBURG -- After a slow start to the season, the bullpen has been lights-out for the Twins over the last two weeks.

In fact, the 'pen is in the midst of an impressive run, as it had a streak of scoreless innings snapped at 27 on Thursday, when reliever Jared Burton gave up a run in the eighth inning of the Twins' 9-7 win. It was the longest such streak by Twins relievers since Aug. 24-Sept. 2, 1992, when Twins relievers combined to throw 30 2/3 straight scoreless innings, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony said he's not surprised by the success of the bullpen, considering it was a strength for the Twins last year with a 3.50 ERA, despite throwing the most innings in the Majors.

"In the first road trip, we had some difficulties, but we stayed with everybody because they all have a little bit of a track record," Antony said. "They did it last year, and some of them have been doing it longer than that. Obviously, they're on a nice run now and hopefully they'll keep it up."