MINNEAPOLIS -- Philadelphias starting rotation has been stuck in a bit of a tailspin since ace Roy Halladay went down with a shoulder injury late last month. . With studs Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels still hurling, who would have thought Joe Blanton would be the one to step up and deliver a sterling performance? Not Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, thats for sure. Blanton pitched his second complete game of the season and Jim Thome homered for the second day in a row to lead the Phillies to a 6-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday night. Blanton (6-6) gave up seven hits and struck out seven while going the distance for the eighth time in his career, snapping an ugly string of five straight starts with at least five runs allowed. "That was a very pleasant surprise," Manuel said of Blanton, who was 1-3 with a 9.91 ERA in his previous five starts. "Its good for him to finish the game and everything. Thats good. He threw strikes all night and he made big pitches when he had to. He changed speeds very good. He did a good job." Ty Wigginton also homered for the Phillies, who took two of three from a Minnesota team that was unbeaten in its previous four series. Trevor Plouffe homered for the third consecutive day and fifth time in six games for the Twins. Scott Diamond (5-2) gave up four runs and five hits in six innings. Jimmy Rollins added three hits, and Carlos Ruiz and Placido Polanco drove in the final two runs for the Phillies. With Halladay, Lee and Hamels in the rotation, the Phillies were supposed to be immune from losing streaks and deep enough to weather an injury or two. But the starters have struggled of late to pick up the slack after Halladay hit the disabled list on May 29, carrying an ERA over 6.00 into the game since losing their ace. Blanton had been one of the biggest problems, getting tagged for 29 earned runs over his previous five starts. He gave up 11 homers during that stretch, but found some comfort at spacious Target Field. He allowed a solo homer to Plouffe in the second inning, but wasnt hurt after that. "He pretty much chewed us up," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Mixing his changeups with cutters and curveballs. He works quick. Always has." The right-hander scattered four singles over his final seven innings, mixing his fastball and changeup effectively to keep the Twins off balance. He got a scare in the sixth when Justin Morneau just missed a two-run homer on a drive that was caught by Shane Victorino at the wall in centre field, but other than that it was fairly effortless as Blanton was able to give Jonathan Papelbon the night off after the closer picked up a four-out save on Wednesday. "I felt like the last two I was getting close but just not quite there, and kind of the same today," Blanton said. "Its not one where quick fixes have all of a sudden made it better. Its been trying a few things and grinding on it." Diamond had emerged as Minnesotas surprising ace since being called up from Triple-A Rochester and making his season debut on May 8. The lefty entered the game with a 1.61 ERA and a 13-inning scoreless streak. That ended in the second when Wigginton hit a solo shot to left field, and Big Jim introduced himself in the third inning. Thomes three-run homer landed in the flower bed above the scoreboard in right-centre, giving the Phillies a 4-1 lead and Thome 607 homers in his brilliant career. He currently sits in eighth place on baseballs career list, but Sammy Sosa (609) is in his sights. "Ive always enjoyed playing here," Thome said. "And Ive had some success here." Several fans leaned over the railing and rummaged through the flowers in hopes of getting their hands on a piece of history, but none were able to find it. A Twins spokesman said the team planned to dig out the ball Friday afternoon and send it to Thome, who spent most of the previous two seasons in Minnesota. During his time here, Thome starred in a commercial dressed as Paul Bunyan and walked around with Babe the Blue Ox. "Nothing he does surprises me," Gardenhire said. "Hes such an ox. As a matter of fact, a blue ox. I saw a picture of him with one one time." NOTES: Thomes homer was his 99th in a Phillies uniform. One more and he becomes the fourth player to hit at least 100 homers with three teams, joining Alex Rodriguez (Mariners, Rangers, Yankees), Reggie Jackson (Angels, Yankees, Athletics) and Darrell Evans (Braves, Giants, Tigers). ... The Twins placed RHP P.J. Walters on the disabled list with a shoulder injury, and Gardenhire stressed to him that he needs to make the team aware when he isnt feeling right. Walters started the game on Wednesday, but had to be pulled in the first inning. "Thats the mistake," Gardenhire said. "Youve got to trust (the trainers) in that room and let them do their job." ... The Twins will open a series against the Milwaukee Brewers at Target Field on Friday night. LHP Francisco Liriano (1-7, 6.45 ERA) will face Milwaukee RHP Yovani Gallardo (5-5, 4.21). ... The Phillies leave for Toronto, where RHP Vance Worley (3-2, 3.00) will face Blue Jays RHP Drew Hutchison (5-3, 4.66) in the opener Friday night. [url=http://www.cowboysofficialteamstore.com/autographed-nate-livings-jersey-hg-... Livings Jersey . Being bounced in the East Division semifinal by Hamilton last fall after winning Grey Cups the previous two seasons prompted general manager Jim Popp to drop some veterans and bring new blood into the defence going into the 2012 campaign. . The delay may have done him good. Bjorn shot a 67 Saturday to move into the lead and held on to a one-stroke advantage over Englands Chris Wood in the third round before play was halted due to darkness. [url=http://www.cowboysofficialteamstore.com/autographed-jason-hatcher-jersey-eb... . Jimenez joins Paul McGinley, Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn for Europes defence of its Ryder Cup title against the United States at the Medinah Country Club in Chicago from Sept. [url=http://www.cowboysofficialteamstore.com/autographed-justin-durant-jersey-de... Durant Jersey . Arroyo pitched six strong innings and homered in the sixth inning for the go-ahead run of the Cincinnati Reds 3-2 victory over the fading Arizona Diamondbacks. . Texas outfielder Josh Hamilton didnt play in the three-game series because of a stiff back, while third baseman Adrian Beltre missed the final two contests of the series, except for one pinch-hit appearance Tuesday, because of soreness in his legs blamed on the Rogers Centres artificial turf.ST. JOHNS, N.L. -- The St. Johns IceCaps are one win away from the second round of the American Hockey League playoffs, but they still see a lot of room for improvement. Ed Pasquale made 40 saves as the IceCaps beat the Syracuse Crunch 5-1 Wednesday in American Hockey League playoff action. Defenceman Derek Meech had the winning goal and an assist for the IceCaps who took a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference best-of-five quarter-final. Game 4 is Friday in St. Johns. "I was happy with the effort we gave tonight," Meech said. "We came out and we recognized the urgency. We did a lot of good things, but theres still some stuff weve got to clean up. "Well enjoy this one for a couple minutes here and then get refocused on the next night." IceCaps coach Keith McCambridge liked his teams effort but stressed there is much room for improvement. "I didnt like our turnovers on the blue-lines, I thought we didnt manage pucks very well at times," he said. "Overall, I liked the energy, I like that we played with some more speed and pace, but the turnovers this time of year cant take place. Thats an area weve got to make sure were better at." Patrice Cormier, Brock Trotter, John Albert and Ben Maxwell also scored for the IceCaps. Dan Sexton replied for Syracuse, while Iiro Tarkki made 33 saves. McCambridge said that the vocal crowd of 6,287 helped the IceCaps move within a game of the conference semifinals. "I believe they were a factor in tonights game," McCambridge said. "Without a doubt, I thought you could feel the energy from warm-up, you could feel the energy from the start of the game. The excitement, the intensity, everything you would want frrom a Canadian market on your home ice, we had that tonight and then some. [url=http://www.cowboysofficialteamstore.com/autographed-robert-newhouse-jersey-... Newhouse Jersey. " Meech was amazed by the energy from the crowd. "It was amazing. Right off the start you could feel all the enthusiasm from the fans. It was a pleasure to play in front of tonight, thats for sure," Meech said. Highly touted forward Mark Scheifele made his debut for the IceCaps. He did not appear on the score-sheet, but did not look out of place playing with the men again. Scheifele was disappointed his Barrie Colts were eliminated by the Ottawa 67s in the Ontario Hockey League playoffs, but was excited to get the chance to play in St. Johns. "It was definitely really upsetting to lose in Game 7 against (the 67s), but you get that extra motivation to come back and play some more hockey for a great team, so you know its all smiles from here," he said. The IceCaps took a 1-0 at the 11:10 mark of the first period when Cormier scored on a five-on-three advantage. Sexton evened the game less than two minutes later when he intercepted an IceCaps pass beat Pasquale high on his blocker side. The IceCaps took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission after Meech flipped a shot past Tarkki during four-on-four play with 2:39 remaining in the first period. At the end of 20 minutes, the IceCaps had a 17-16 shot advantage over the Crunch. Trotter scored a power-play goal on a rebound at 7:54 mark of the second period to make it 3-1. Shots during the second period were even at 12. St. Johns extended its lead to 4-1 at the 4:51 mark of the third period. Raymond Sawada set up with Albert, who slid the puck past Tarkki on a two-on-one rush. Maxwell capped the scoring at 16:35 of the third. ' ' '