July 3rd, 2009 by sean
Categories: 2009 Twins Game Logs
Tags: Detroit Tigers, Lucas French, Minnesota Twins
Respond: 9 LTEs
Time: 7:10 CDT
TV: FSN HD
MLB.tv and radio
Starters:
Lucas French (2.98 ERA, 7.9 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 in 81.7 IP in AAA)
vs
Kevin Slowey (10-3, 4.41; 119 tRA+)
Yes, Frenchie, err, Luke is left-handed. Sorry, he's not a Jeremy.. yet. Mediocre numbers in the minors until this year in AAA, when he basically morphed into Scott Baker. Maybe Rick Knapp taking over as the Tiger's pitching coach has transformed more than just the big league club. My initial thought was him going from a hitter's league to a pitcher's league, but not really. The International League is only slightly more pitcher friendly than the Eastern League. However, he's been a year younger than average at every step, so the light bulb must have flicked on for him.
Slowey, meanwhile, has fallen off the truck. 10 walks in his five June starts. 10!!!!11. A win tonight might "earn" him his first All-Star appearance. He still has a small chance at winning as many games as walks, but it's not looking so good now.
Finally, with a loss on Monday and a win Tuesday, order in the Universe has been preserved this week. I am confident it shall continue tonight.
July 3rd, 2009 by SBG
Categories: Personal
Tags:
Respond: 5 LTEs
I'll be heading off to North Dakota in a couple of hours to my parent's place for the weekend. My Dad, Butch, and my mother, Mrs. Butch (I didn't think of that for this site. One time this guy from my hometown showed up at my apartment when I was in college. It was late at night after the bars had closed and a bunch of us were still having fun. This guy was almost 30 -- he was a friend of the guy that was dating my sister. Well, anyways, he was talking with me and he asked, how's Butch? Pretty good, I replied. How's Mrs. Butch. And I laughed. My mother may be married to my Dad, but, she's not exactly a Mrs. Butch.) are throwing a party for all of my siblings and their families. It should be fun. After the jump, a few words about Butch and Mrs. Butch.
Click here to continue reading post...
Beloit is 2-5, tied for seventh in the ML West, three games out of first. For the season, Beloit is 29-48.
Friday
The Snappers gave up a run in the bottom of the eighth to fall to the Clinton LumberKings 4-3 in Clinton. Denny Almonte hit a solo homer to put Clinton ahead 1-0 in the third. Beloit took a short-lived 2-1 lead in the fifth: Jeff Lanning singled, stole second, and scored on an Aaron Hicks single; Hicks then stole second and scored on an error. The LumberKings went back up 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth on a homer, a single, a sacrifice bunt, and another single. The Snappers tied it in the sixth when Jon Waltenbury walked and scored on Nathan Hanson's RBI double. Beloit missed a chance to take the lead in the top of the eighth, loading the bases with one out, and it cost them, as two walks and a single plated the go-ahead run for Clinton in the bottom of the eighth. The Snappers managed only a two-out single in the ninth. Hanson and James Beresford each had two hits. Daniel Osterbrock pitched six innings, giving up three runs on six hits and striking out seven. Bruce Pugh pitched the last two innings to take the loss.
Saturday
Rained out--made up as part of Sunday doubleheader
Sunday
Game 1
Beloit scored early and never looked back as they defeated Clinton in an err0r-filled game 6-2. The Snappers got two in the top of the first: they loaded the bases on a single by James Beresford and walks to Jon Waltenbury and Nathan Hanson, and a two-base error brought two runs home. An error also produced a run in the second, as it followed a Drew Thompson double and an Aaron Hicks bunt single. Beloit went ahead 5-0 in the third on solo homers by Nathan Hanson and Angel Morales. The LumberKings got two runners on in the third, fourth, and fifth, but did not score until the sixth, when two singles and an error led to a run. The Snappers got it back in the seventh when Waltenbury singled, took second on an error, and scored on Alexander Soto's single. Clinton scored one in the seventh on a walk, a ground out, and, of course, an error. The teams combined for seven errors in the game. Beresford and Thompson each had two hits. Bobby Lanigan got the win, giving up an unearned run on five hits in six innings.
Game 2
Six was again the magic number as the Snappers swept the doubleheader, defeating Clinton 6-4. Errors were again key. The LumberKings scored first, getting two runs in the third on three singles and an error. Beloit bounced back to take a 4-2 lead in the top of the fourth--Michael Harrington, Nathan Hanson, and Jeff Lanning all singled to score one, a Dominic De La Osa single and a walk to Aaron Hicks scored another and loaded the bases, and a two-base error scored two more. Clinton cut the lead to 4-3 in the bottom of the fourth on three singles and a walk, but left the bases loaded. The Snappers got some insurance in the sixth when Lanning singled, De La Osa was hit by a pitch, an error moved runners to second and third, a sacrifice fly by Hicks scored one, and a Ramon Santana double scored another. The LumberKings got a solo homer with two out in the seventh to close out the scoring. Hanson had three hits, and Santana, Harrington, and Lanning each had two. Michael Tarsi got the win, giving up ten hits, but only three runs (two earned) in five innings. Matthew Williams pitched the final two innings to get a save.
Monday
Off Day
Tuesday
Beloit was held to only three hits and one run as they lost to the Cedar Rapids Kernels 4-1 in Beloit. The Snappers scored first, getting a third-inning run when Drew Thompson doubled and Aaron Hicks singled. Cedar Rapids loaded the bases in the fourth, but did not score until the fifth, when an error, two stolen bases, and a double produced a run to tie the score. It stayed tied at one until the ninth, when a triple, a walk, another triple, and a squeeze bunt led to three runs and a 4-1 lead for the Kernels. Beloit got the tying run up to bat with one out in the ninth, but a pair of strikeouts ended the game. Thompson's double was the only extra-base hit. Brad Tippett pitched six innings, giving up an unearned run on five hits. Curtis Leavitt pitched two scoreless innings. Steven Blevins pitched the ninth and took the loss.
Wednesday
The Snappers doubled their run total from yesterday, but so did Cedar Rapids as the Kernels defeated Beloit 8-2. Cedar Rapids got five hits in a row (four singles and a double) in the third inning, putting the Kernels ahead 4-0. The Snappers got one back in the bottom of the third when Jeff Lanning doubled, stole third, and scored on a throwing error. Another error led to a Beloit run in the fifth, as an error and singles by Lanning and Thompson (Thompson's was a bunt), loaded the bases with one out and a ground out scored one to cut the lead to 4-2. The Snappers did not score any more, however, and never came closer than that. Two walks and two singles produced two Cedar Rapids runs in the seventh, and four singles produced two more Kernel runs in the ninth. Lanning and Stewart Munroe each had two hits for Beloit. Daniel Berlind took the loss, giving up four runs on five hits in only 3.2 innings. Blake Martin pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, striking out four, and Michael Allen pitched a scoreless inning.
Thursday
Offense continued to be lacking, as Beloit had only two hits in losing to Cedar Rapids 5-1. Three singles and a ground out put the Kernels ahead 1-0 in the third inning. In the fifth, a walk, a double, and a single made the score 3-0. The lone Snapper run came in the sixth, when Dominic De La Osa reached on an error and scored on James Beresford's double. Cedar Rapids got the run back in the seventh with a leadoff home run, and tacked on one more in the ninth on a hit batsman, an error, and a sacrifice fly. Beloit did get two on in both the eighth and ninth, with all the runners coming on walks, but could not get any more hits, much less score any more runs. Daniel Osterbrock took the loss, giving up three runs on ten hits in five innings.
Statistical notes: The Snappers are eleventh in runs, tenth in doubles, tied for twelfth in triples, and tenth in home runs. They are fifth in walks and fourteenth (last) in stolen bases. They are tied for eighth in OBP, twelfth in SLG, tied for ninth in AVG, and twelfth in OPS.
Snappers pitchers are twelfth in ERA, thirteenth in fewest hits allowed, twelfth in fewest home runs allowed, and seventh in fewest walks allowed. They are tied for fourth in strikeouts and twelfth in WHIP.
Michael Harrington is tied for third in doubles (22). Bobby Lanigan is tied for fourth in wins (7), tied for third in starts (15), and tied for second in complete games (1). Daniel Berlind is tied for first in most losses (9) and tied for second in complete games (1). Daniel Osterbrock is tied for first in starts (16), tied for second in complete games (1), and first in most hits allowed. Michael Allen is tied for second in complete games (1). Brad Tippett is fourth in WHIP (1.09).
Notes: Snappers hitting coach Rich Miller has been promoted to Rochester. He takes the place of Riccardo Ingram, who is taking a leave from the team for personal reasons. Replacing Miller as Snappers hitting coach will be ex-Twin Chris Heintz...Shooter Hunt, who started the season with Beloit before going on the disabled list, has been assigned to the Gulf Coast League Twins.
July 3rd, 2009 by socaltwinsfan
Categories: MLB, Minnesota Twins, This Day in History
Tags:
Respond: Write the First Letter to the Editor
| 1968 |
Striking out 19 Twins and scattering six hits over 10 innings, Luis Tiant and the Indians won 1-0. Tiant set two modern MLB records - most strikeouts in a 10-inning game; 32 strikeouts in consecutive games - and tied the modern major league record of 41 strikeouts in three successive appearances. He topped the American League in ERA in 1968 with 1.60. Jim Merritt was the tough-luck loser for the Twins as he allowed only two hits through the first nine innings. In the 10th, he allowed an infield single to Lou Johnson, who advanced to second on an error by shortstop Cesar Tovar, who had just moved to shortstop after starting shortstop Jackie Hernandez had been removed for a pinch hitter in the top of the 10th. Joe Azcue then singled home Johnson to end the game. The Twins had runners at the corners and no outs in the 10th, but Tiant struck out Johnny Roseboro, Rich Rollins (pinch-hitting for Hernandez) and Merritt to get out of the jam. It was Merritt's fourth strikeout of the game. |
| 1973 |
Minnesota's Tony Oliva hits three solo home runs during a 7-6 loss at Kansas City. The Twins' Bert Blyleven allowed a two-out RBI single to Steve Hovley in the eighth inning, but Oliva's third homer tied the game with two outs in the top of the ninth inning. However, the Royals' eighth-place hitter, Paul Schaal, hit his second homer of the game off reliever Ken Sanders leading off the bottom of the ninth inning to end it. |
| 1980 |
Ken Landreaux tied the modern major league record with three triples in Minnesota's 10-3 win over Texas. Doug Flynn will match it in a month. |
| 1987 |
After Jeff Reardon blew a two-run lead in the top of the ninth inning on Larry Sheets' two-out, two-run single, the Twins won it 6-5 in the 11th inning on Steve Lombardozzi's two-out single that scored Tom Brunansky. |
| 2006 |
After the Royals rallied with four runs on two hits off Johan Santana in the sixth inning to take a 5-3 lead, the Twins rallied back with three runs on one hit against the Royals' bullpen to win 6-5. Two walks, a single, and a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch preceded Angel Berroa's three-run double in the Royals' big sixth inning. The Twins' three runs in the eighth scored on Justin Morneau's RBI single and two run-scoring wild pitches by Ambiorix Burgos. |
Tomorrow's This Date in Twins History will be a special long edition for the Fourth of July.
Twins apparently willing to spend more on international free agents. Of course, we'll have to wait to see if they actually follow through on this, but I'd generally rather spend $3-4M per uber-prospect, even if there's a fairly large bust rate than I would spend $3-4M on replaceable guys like Livan Hernandez. If nothing else, having some hyped prospects around can help to give us more chips to bargain with when we want to make trades.
And my gut feeling is that since the overall dollars are smaller (at least for now), the Twins (and other small-to-mid-market clubs) can sometimes afford to out-spend higher-spending clubs on the international free agent market for prospects, whereas it would almost never be a good idea for them to out-spend the biggest markets on top veteran free agents.
WGOM Headline: Idiot Alert!
Respond: 17 LTEs
Tags:
ESPN reveals who they think should be the All-Star Starters.
In advance of the All-Star Game selections on Sunday, ESPN.com surveyed 31 of ESPN's top baseball minds to find out which American League players should be starting in the 80th Midsummer Classic on July 14 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
Five of those 31 "top baseball minds" think that Victor Martinez should be the AL's starting catcher.
CFLer pretends to be dead as a 'tribute' to Michael Jackson after scoring touchdown.
Following a TD pass from Kerry Joseph that put Toronto ahead 6-0, [Arland] Bruce removed his helmet, shoulder pads and uniform top and laid down in the end zone.
...
"I made the mistake of telling him in camp that once he got to the end zone, I didn't care what he did," coach Bart Andrus said.
WGOM Headline: Joe wants a Grammy to go with Fielding Grammy
Respond: 3 LTEs
Tags:
Recent transactions involving former Minnesota Twins players:
Arizona purchases the contract of Alex Romero from Reno (AAA).
White Sox organization reinstates Corky Miller from the disabled list.
Cincinnati acquires Corky Miller from the White Sox for outfielder Norris Hopper.
Cleveland adds Mike Gosling to the forty-man roster.
The Dodgers activate Eric Milton from the disabled list.
Pittsburgh purchases the contract of Garrett Jones from Indianapolis (AAA).
Texas activates Willie Eyre from the disabled list.
Texas options Willie Eyre to Oklahoma City (AAA).
Please place any additions or corrections in the comments.
July 2nd, 2009 by SBG
Categories: Featured Articles
Tags: You Choose
Respond: 33 LTEs
Flash forward to Christmas Day, 2009. You wake up thinking about gifts, a nice dinner with family, and maybe you are hoping that your crazy uncle doesn't do something to ruin the day.
Unfortunately, Uncle Bud Selig is about to ruin your day, big time. He's on TV, announcing that, despite the new stadium in Minneapolis, the Twins are done playing here. You get to choose the path of their demise.
Option 1: The Pohlad family sells the club to Donald Trump and he moves them to New York City. They will play in Yankee Stadium and Trump agrees to pay rent to the Yankees, thereby further enriching the Yanks. The Donald announces that Mauer has been signed to a long term deal, meaning that the M&M Boys are going to anchor the franchise for years to come. The team remains intact, except now they are playing in Yankee Stadium, and are the lesser of the two tenants there. For the rest of time, we have to hear about how great the New York Twins are and how things are so much better for the franchise now that they playing in the AL East with the Yankees and Red Sox. (Assume Toronto moves to the AL Central.) FSN continues to carry the games here. You see M&M play together every night, but in front of adoring New Yorkers.
Option 2: The team is contracted. The players are subjected to a dispersal draft. Joe Mauer ends up playing for the White Sox. You have to listen to Joe talk about how much he enjoys playing for the Southsiders.
It's ugly. You choose. Merry Christmas.
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Ft. Myers is 2-3, tied for second in the FSL South, a half game out of first. Their overall record is 43-29.
Thursday
All the scoring came early as the Miracle defeated the Daytona Cubs 6-4 in Ft. Myers. Daytona scored three times in the first inning on two singles, a double, a walk, and an error. The Miracle came back with one in the bottom of the first when Steven Singleton walked, Deibinson Romero singled him to third, and Chris Parmelee delivered a sacrifice fly. The teams traded single runs in the second, with the Cubs scoring on an error and two singles and Ft. Myers tallying on a Nicholas Romero triple and a ground out to make the score 4-2. The Miracle took the lead in the third: Ben Revere and Singleton opened the inning with singles, Deibinson Romero tripled to tie the score and scored on a ground out to put Ft. Myers ahead 5-4. The Miracle got an insurance run in the fifth when Revere reached on an error, stole second, and scored on Deibinson Romero's double. Daytona's only other threat came in the seventh, when they got a runner to third with one out, but the runner was thrown out trying to score on a fly out. Deibinson Romero had four hits and drove in three runs. Tyler Robertson got the win, giving up four runs (one earned) on seven hits. Loek Van Mil pitched two scoreless innings of relief, and Blair Erickson pitched one to get the save.
Friday
The Miracle matched Daytona for five innings, but could not do it for the entire game as they fell to the Cubs 8-6. Each team scored one in the first, as Daytona got a single and a double and Ft. Myers got walks to Ben Revere and Steven Singleton and a single by Chris Parmelee. Each team scored four times in the fifth, with the Cubs getting three singles, a triple, and a sacrifice fly and the Miracle getting singles from Jair Fernandez, Chris Cates, and Revere, a walk to Deibinson Romero, and a double by Parmelee. In the sixth, Daytona scored twice on a double, two singles, an error, and a ground out to take a 7-5 lead, and this time Ft. Myers could not match them. The Cubs added another run in the seventh on a walk, a single, and another error. The only other tally for the Miracle came when Fernandez hit a solo homer in the eighth. Parmelee had three hits and drove in three runs; Fernandez and Cates each had two hits. Michael McCardell took the loss, giving up seven runs (six earned) on eleven hits in five innings. Santos Arias pitched two scoreless innings of relief.
Saturday
The Miracle again fell to Daytona, this time 6-4. The Cubs again scored in the first inning, as three singles produced a run. Ft. Myers opened the bottom of the first with two singles, but did not score. In the third, a double, a single, a double, and a single gave Daytona three runs and a 4-0 lead. The Miracle got on the board in the bottom of the third on singles by Ben Revere and Deibinson Romero, a walk to Evan Bigley, and a single by Nicholas Romero, but they left the bases full. The Cubs scored twice in the seventh on two triples and a wild pitch to go ahead 6-1. In the seventh, Ft. Myers cut the lead to 6-2 when Chris Cates singled, stole second, and scored on a single by Revere. They threatened to get back in the game in the eighth. Bigley opened the inning with a double, and scored on a one-out single by Rene Leveret. A passed ball sent Leveret to second, and Chris Parmelee singled him in to make the score 6-4. Cates then doubled, but Parmelee was thrown out trying to score, a strikeout ended the inning, and the Miracle would never get that close again. Revere had three hits, and Mark Dolenc, Nicholas Romero, and Cates each had two. Steven Hirschfeld took the loss, giving up four runs on eleven hits in five innings. Spencer Steedley pitched a scoreless inning of relief.
Sunday
The Miracle got only one run on four hits as they lost to Daytona again, this time by a score of 4-1. The Cubs again took a first-inning lead when two singles sandwiched a walk. They went up 3-0 in the third when a single, a double, and an error scored two runs. The lone Ft. Myers run came in the fifth when Chris Cates walked, went to third on a single by Nicholas Romero, and scored on an error, but Daytona got it back with interest in the sixth, scoring twice on two singles, a walk, and another single. The last eleven Miracle batters were retired, and the game was over. No Ft. Myers player had more than one hit--Rene Leveret and Jair Fernandez each doubled. Deolis Guerra took the loss, giving up five runs (four earned) on nine hits. Santos Arias pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, and Blair Erickson pitched a scoreless ninth.
Monday
A three-run seventh helped Ft. Myers snap its losing streak as the Miracle grounded the Lakeland Flying Tigers 5-1 in Lakeland. Both teams scored once in the second--Ft. Myers got a run on singles by Deibinson Romero and Chris Parmelee, a passed ball, and a ground out; the Flying Tigers scored on a single and a double. Each team had a threat before the seventh, as Lakeland put two on in the fourth and the Miracle had a runner thrown out at the plate in the fifth. In the seventh, Parmelee doubled and Evan Bigley reached on an error and stole second, putting runners on second and third. A walk to Mark Dolenc loaded the bases, and Jair Fernandez unloaded them, driving in all three with a double. The Romeros produced an insurance run in the eighth, as Deibinson singled and Nicholas doubled him in. Each Romero had two hits, as did Parmelee and Fernandez. David Bromberg got the win, giving up a run on five hits in 6.1 innings. Spencer Steedley pitched the last 2.2 scorelessly, striking out three, to get a save.
Tuesday
Rained out
Wednesday
Rained out
Statistical notes: The Miracle are second in runs, fifth in doubles, fifth in triples, and eleventh in home runs. They are second in walks and eighth in stolen bases. They are first in OBP, tied for fourth in SLG, first in AVG, and second in OPS.
Miracle pitchers are second in ERA, sixth in fewest hits allowed, fifth in fewest home runs allowed, and fourth in fewest walks allowed. They are sixth in strikeouts and fourth in WHIP.
Ben Revere is tied for second in games (72), fourth in at-bats (270), fourth in runs (45), first in hits (86), fourth in stolen bases (28), first in caught stealing (12), and tied for third in AVG (.319). Steven Singleton is second in triples (6). Chris Parmelee is tied for fifth in home runs (9) and tied for third in RBIs (42). Michael McCardell is tied for second in wins (7), tied for fifth in starts (14), and tied for first in most home runs allowed. Deolis Guerra is tied for first in losses (8), tied for fifth in starts (14), and first in most earned runs allowed. Spencer Steedley is tied for third in games (28). David Bromberg is tied for fifth in starts (14). Tyler Robertson is tied for fifth in starts (14). Glen Perkins is tied for third in complete games (1) and tied for first in shutouts (1).
Notes: Joe Testa was promoted from Beloit to Ft. Myers...Ft. Myers and Lakeland will try to play a doubleheader tonight, making up one of the rained out games. As this is the last time the two teams are scheduled to play, the other rained out game will not be made up.
July 2nd, 2009 by socaltwinsfan
Categories: MLB, Minnesota Twins, This Day in History
Tags:
Respond: Write the First Letter to the Editor
| 1972 |
Minnesota's Jim Kaat, sporting a 10-2 record and a 2.07 ERA, broke his pitching hand while sliding. He missed the remainder of the season. Kaat got credit for the 6-4 win over the White Sox. Tom Bradley won his 10th in the nitecap, a 2-1 win for Chicago. If Kaat had not gotten injured during probably his most dominant season, would he be in the Hall of Fame now? |
| 1987 |
Jim Eisenreich, making a comeback after being forced out of the major leagues by a nervous disorder in 1984, hit his first ML home run since 1982 to lead the Royals to a 10-3 win over his former club, the Twins. Eisenreich also added a double and four RBIs. |
| 2006 |
Rookie sensation Francisco Liriano pitched eight shutout innings in an 8-0 victory over the Brewers to improve to 9-1 with a 1.99 ERA. Liriano allowed only three hits and one walk with 12 strikeouts. |
| 2007 |
With manager Joe Torre watching from the Yankee dugout, Roger Clemens threw eight innings of two-hit ball in a 5-1 win over the Twins to become the eighth pitcher to record 350 career victories. The New York manager was the catcher for Warren Spahn's 350th win making him a participant of the only two occasions that a pitcher has reached the milestone since 1928. |
WGOM Headline: Kubel or Hinskie?
Respond: 6 LTEs
Tags:
Or, Kubel AND Hinskie?
(I can't believe how much mileage we're getting out of this Hinskie thing. And who would he have replaced? Morales or Buscher maybe?)
July 1st, 2009 by socaltwinsfan
Categories: 2009 Twins Game Logs, MLB, Minnesota Twins
Tags:
Respond: 203 LTEs
Time: 1:10 CDT
TV: FSN mlb.tv
Radio: TRN, XM 178
Starting Pitchers: Glen Perkins (3-4, 4.70 ERA, 1.25 WHIP) vs.
Gil "Ga" Meche (4-7, 4.27, 1.42)
The quest for two games over .500 continues. The Twins are 0-7 when attempting to improve to two games over .500 this season, including two of their three losses on this road trip. Today is attempt No. 8.
A win today could be one of those turning points in a season. Just one game shy of the midway point of the season, the Twins would not only have their best record of the season, they would finish a road trip at 6-3 and win their fourth consecutive road series (On June 8, the Twins were 6-19 on the road. They are 9-5 since.) They would also continue their trend of shaking off their day game blues. The Twins are 10-18 in day games, but have won five of their last eight day games.
With the Twins being on the road for a while, I've been busy enough lately that I've had to listen on my XM radio instead of Dick-n-Bert on my computer. This has meant listening to a lot of opposing announcers. So, of course I've heard a lot of how the Twins "play the game the right way," and "do the little things right," etc., etc. You know, the kind of things that make Twins fans roll their eyes or press the mute button if they can.
I'm no different, except that I noticed this stat last night: the Twins lead the AL in defensive efficiency. This means there has been no AL team better at turning balls put into play into outs. Now, there isn't much difference from top to bottom (about 20 points as opposed to about 45-point difference in top to bottom in on-base average), so there could be a certain amount of luck involved here, but that still is pretty stunning given the perceived range problems of this team at first, shortstop, and the corner outfielders other than Span. So, the broadcasters are right when they talk about the Twins' good defense. This also goes a long ways to explain the success of Nick Blackburn this season. What's really odd is that the two worst teams in this category are the Angels and the Red Sox.
So, how about other little things? Well, the Twins once again lead the AL in sacrifice flies and Michael Cuddyer's sac fly last night was the difference in the 2-1 game. Last year, the Twins led the AL in sac flies and had 10 more than the second-best team, the Red Sox. The Twins are also third in the AL with sacrifice bunts, so the broadcasters do have numbers to back up statements about the Twins doing the little things right. Throwing strikes goes along with this I would think, and the Twins of course are leading the AL in fewest walks allowed once again. They also lead the AL in K/BB ratio.
The most encouraging stat to me is the Twins are third in the AL in OPS+ at 107 and they are far ahead of their division in this category. Unfortunately, the Twins are way down in ERA+ at 94, only good enough for 11th. So, apparently the Twins have been playing in a lot of pitcher's ballparks because they have allowed the third fewest runs per game in the AL.
Anyways, back to today's game. Meche has been struggling lately and there is concern about a dead arm. Hopefully, it won't be resurrected today. The Twins need to get back on the winning track vs. the Royals. Scoring more than two runs should help that. The Twins were 11-4 vs. the Royals last year going into the final series of the season needing to just win the series to clinch the division title, but the Twins lost that series and are 2-3 this year vs. the Royals. The last time the Twins lost a season series to the Royals was 2003. Since then, the Twins are 60-39 against KC.
So, is it too much to ask to go 6-3 on the road trip and win all three series? I don't think so. GO TWINS!!
New Britain is 39-36, second in the EL North, 4.5 games behind Connecticut.
Wednesday
The Twins' desire to limit Carlos Gutierrez' innings cost New Britain a game, as the Harrisburg Senators scored four times against the New Britain bullpen to defeat the Rock Cats 5-3 in New Britain. New Britain took a 1-0 lead in the first when Brandon Roberts singled, went to third on a Rene Tosoni double, and scored on Whitney Robbins' single. They went up 3-0 in the second when Matt Moses singled, Yancarlos Ortiz walked, and Allan de San Miguel tripled them both in. The Rock Cats missed a chance to add to their lead in the fourth, when they got runners to second and third with one out and did not score. Harrisburg got on the board with a solo homer in the fifth. Gutierrez came out after five innings; Kyle Waldrop pitched a perfect sixth and Jose Lugo a perfect seventh, but in the eighth Lugo gave up a leadoff single and was replaced by Alex Burnett. The Senators promptly got a single, a double, and a walk, making the score 3-2 and loading the bases. A pair of outs tied the score, and a double put Harrisburg on top 5-3. Roberts, Tosoni, and Robbins each had two hits. Gutierrez gave up a run on two hits and no walks. Burnett took the loss. Frank Mata pitched 1.1 scoreless innings.
Thursday
New Britain scored seven in the second and defeated Harrisburg 8-5. With one out in the second, Juan Portes walked and Matt Moses homered. Yancarlos Ortiz and Danny Lehmann then singled, and Brandon Roberts was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Rene Tosoni unloaded them with a double, and Brian Dinkelman hit a two-run homer to put the Rock Cats ahead 7-0. Three singles, a double, and a ground out put the Senators back into the game 7-3 in the fourth. Tosoni manufactured a run in the seventh, getting a double, taking third on a wild pitch, and scoring on a ground out. Harrisburg scored two in the ninth, but Anthony Slama came in to retire all three men he faced to end the game. Tosoni had two hits and drove in three. Ryan Mullins was the winner, giving up three runs on seven hits and no walks in six innings. Slama got the save.
Friday
Rained out--will be made up as part of a doubleheader July 8.
Saturday
The bats were silent this day, as New Britain managed only four hits in losing to the Connecticut Defenders 3-0 in New Britain. Brett Pill hit a solo homer in the first to put Connecticut ahead 1-0. No runners got past first again for either team until the fifth, when the Rock Cats got a walk and a single with two out, but did not score. In the seventh, a double and a single put the Defenders up 2-0. New Britain again tried to rally with two out in the seventh, getting an error, a hit batsman, and a walk, but again the rally failed to produce a run. A single, a hit batsman, and a double gave Connecticut a third run in the eighth, and that was that. No Rock Cat had more than one hit, and all the hits were singles. Cole Devries took the loss despite giving up only two runs on six hits in seven innings. Alex Burnett pitched 1.1 innings of scoreless relief.
Sunday
The Rock Cats could only score in one inning, and it wasn't enough as they fell to Connecticut 4-3. New Britain got a leadoff double in the first and put two on in the third, but there was no scoring until the fifth, when the Defenders put two singles around a double to go ahead 1-0. Connecticut made it 3-0 in the sixth on a homer, a double, and a single. In the bottom of the sixth, Rene Tosoni doubled, Erik Lis walked, and Juan Portes singled to cut the lead to 3-1. An error loaded the bases, Daniel Berg walked to drive in a run, and Danny Lehmann singled to tie the score. In the eighth, a double, a ground out, and a squeeze bunt brought home the game-winner for the Defenders. The Rock Cats got two on with two out in the bottom of the ninth, but a ground out ended the game. Tosoni had three hits and Brian Dinkelman had two. Matthew Fox pitched 5.1 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits. Kyle Waldrop had a scoreless 1.2 innings. Anthony Slama took the loss.
Monday
A four-run first was all Connecticut really needed as the Defenders defeated New Britain 6-3. Connecticut put together six singles, including two infield hits, to score the four first-inning runs. The Rock Cats put runners on second and third in the second and fourth, but the next run was scored by the Defenders in the top of the fifth on three singles. New Britain finally broke through in the bottom of the fifth, when an error and singles by Whitney Robbins and Brian Dinkelman put the Rock Cats on the board. The Defenders got a double and a single in the sixth to go back up by five. In the bottom of the sixth, Allan de San Miguel walked, Brandon Roberts singled, and Whitney Robbins and Erik Lis delivered RBI singles to make the score 6-3, but that was as close as New Britain would come, and they never mounted another serious challenge. Robbins had three hits and Lis and Dinkelman had two each. Carlos Gutierrez took the loss, giving up five runs on ten hits in four innings. Kyle Waldrop and Jose Lugo each pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, and Frank Mata pitched a scoreless two-thirds of an inning.
Tuesday
The first inning was again the key, as the Rock Cats scored seven in the first to defeat the Portland Sea Dogs 9-5 in Portland. New Britain needed only two hits to score their seven first-inning runs. Brandon Roberts and Toby Gardenhire walked, and Rene Tosoni was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Whitney Robbins walked to bring in the first run, and Daniel Berg hit a bases-clearing double to make the score 4-0. Following a walk to Brian Dinkelman, Erik Lis hit a three-run homer to put the Rock Cats ahead 7-0. Portland scored three in the bottom of the first in a similar fashion: two walks preceded a three-run homer to make the score 7-3. The Sea Dogs loaded the bases with two out in the third, but the next runs were scored in the fourth, when Gardenhire singled and Tosoni homered to increase the lead to 9-3. The lead was cut to 9-5 in the seventh when Portland got a double and a homer, but those were the last hits the Sea Dogs would get. Gardenhire, Tosoni, and Juan Portes each had two hits, with Lis and Berg each driving in three runs. Ryan Mullins got the win, giving up three runs on four hits and three walks and striking out eight in six innings. Alex Burnett and Anthony Slama each pitched a scoreless inning of relief.
Statistical notes: The Rock Cats are second in runs, tied for third in doubles, third in triples, and tied for fifth in home runs. They are sixth in walks and eleventh in stolen bases. The Rock Cats are first in OBP, third in SLG, tied for first in AVG, and second in OPS.
Rock Cats pitchers are eighth in ERA, tied for ninth in fewest hits allowed, tied for sixth in fewest home runs allowed, and fourth in fewest walks allowed. They are fourth in strikeouts and eighth in WHIP.
Danny Valencia is tied for third in triples (4). Jose Lugo is first in games (39). Anthony Slama is second in games (35) and second in saves (15). Ryan Mullins is tied for first in starts (15) and second in strikeouts (73).
Notes: Jeff Manship has been promoted to Rochester...Rene Tosoni has been selected to appear for the World team in the all-star Futures Game...As expected, Monday's started will be Carlos Gutierrez' last for this season. He is being moved to the bullpen to prevent him from pitching too many innings this year. There have been no reports on what the Rock Cats will do to replace both Gutierrez and Manship in the rotation. They had planned to start Yohan Pino in Manship's spot Friday, but that was not looked at as a permanent solution.
July 1st, 2009 by ubelmann
Categories: Featured Articles
Tags: All-Star
Respond: 7 LTEs
On Monday, I showed up to play for a new intramural softball team, but the captain failed epically in putting together a team, and with 4 men and 3 women, we were forced to forfeit. But not all was lost! The other team had 11 players, we split up into two teams of 9, and we just played ball for an hour. It was wonderful.
Anyway, my All-Star fantasy is that every MLB player shows up to some sandlot in the middle of nowhere (Is this heaven? No, it's Minnesota), two guys are chosen as captains of the AL and NL, they choose up 9 guys for each team and have at it. (While I like the DH for purposes of baseball-as-a-spectator sport, in this particular fantasy, pitchers hit and they pitch the whole game because they don't have to deal with pitching once every five days. Did I mention fantasy?)
Under these circumstances, this is who I would pick after a quick glance at the rosters, which is of course all you might have when you are picking sides on the playground:
| Pos |
AL |
NL |
| C: |
Joe Mauer |
Brian McCann |
| 1B: |
Mark Teixeira |
Albert Pujols |
| 2B: |
Ian Kinsler |
Chase Utley |
| 3B: |
Alex Rodriguez* |
Chipper Jones |
| SS: |
Derek Jeter** |
Hanley Ramirez |
| LF: |
Ichiro |
Manny*** |
| CF: |
Grady Sizemore |
Matt Kemp?^ |
| RF: |
Nick Markakis |
Ryan Braun^^ |
| P: |
Roy Halladay^^^ |
Tim Lincecum |
I think that'd be a hell of a ballgame.
Click here to continue reading post...
July 1st, 2009 by socaltwinsfan
Categories: MLB, Minnesota Twins, This Day in History
Tags:
Respond: Write the First Letter to the Editor
| 1961 |
Harmon Killebrew went 4-for-5 with five RBIs in a 9-3 victory over the Kansas City Athletics. Killebrew's grand slam in the ninth inning broke open a close game. |
| 1969 |
Rich Reese went 4-for-5 with two home runs, a double, and three RBIs to lead the Twins, who rallied from an early 5-0 deficit to win 10-5 over the White Sox. |
| 1973 |
At California, the Twins' Jim Kaat fired a one-hitter to beat the Angels, 2-1. Frank Robinson's home run in the second inning was the only hit. The Twins' Rod Carew had a two-run single in the third inning. |
| 1984 |
Minnesota's Frank Viola pitched a four-hitter in a 9-0 victory in front of 53,484 at Detroit. Kent Hrbek had three hits, including a homer and four RBIs. The victory gave the surprising second-place Twins (38-39) a split of their four-game series with the Tigers (55-22). |
| 2006 |
Both Shannon Stewart and Jason Kubel had four hits as the Twins rallied to beat the Brewers 10-7. Michael Cuddyer's RBI triple tied the game in the eighth inning. Later in the inning, Shannon Stewart walked with the bases loaded to reach base for the fifth time in the game and give the Twins the lead. Kubel then followed with a two-run single to give him three RBIs. |
WGOM Headline: I agree with Shecky, but is he still wrong?
Respond: 12 LTEs
Tags:
Souhan says the Twins need bullpen help, and I think most Twins fans agree with that, but do the numbers? His timing of this column is odd given the Twins won a 2-1 game when their starter went just five innings. And the Twins' bullpen is getting better.
Bullpen ERA by month:
March/April: 6.14
May: 3.36
June: 2.54
Bullpen WHIP by month:
March/April: 1.585
May: 1.217
June: 1.19
Bullpen OPS against by month:
March/April: .825
May: .716
June: .670
There is a definite trend in the right direction for the bullpen as a whole and it has a lot to do with jettisoning dead weight like Luis Ayala, Craig Breslow, and Jesse Crain.
Still, Bobby Keppel's career numbers both in the majors and minors make it doubtful that this good start for him will continue much longer. R.A. Dickey has always been better as a reliever, which makes sense if you think about it*, I still wouldn't want to trust a knuckleballer with a one-run lead in the late innings what with passed balls, stolen bases, etc. His best attribute is a rubber arm which should allow the Twins to stay with 11 pitchers.
* I would think it would be easier to prepare for a knuckleballer if you know he's starting and you will face him at least a couple times. After facing 90-mph fastballs, that knuckleball junk can really throw you off, I would think.
Because of Gardy's reluctance to use Joe Nathan to help out in the eighth inning (did he at least consider bringing Nathan in to face Twins killer Miguel Oliva with two outs and the tying run at second base in the eighth inning last night?), it would make sense to go after a veteran set-up guy. Would they take Delmon straight up?
June 30th, 2009 by FirstTimeLongTime
Categories: 2009 Twins Game Logs, FirstTimelongTime, Guest Writers
Tags: Brian Bannister, Kansas City Royals, Scott Baker
Respond: 242 LTEs
Scott Baker (xFIP 3.98)
at
Brian Bannister (xFIP 4.54)
In the second game of a three game series the Minnesota .500's travel to play Kansas City Cinderellas. In a match up that must have Joe Posnanski going nuts, it is his favorite manager against his favorite pitcher! Rather than spending all of the game log talking about Joe Pos I am going to list a bunch of fun Twins facts from this season
- The Twins are 4th in the American League in BB/K%. That is to say, the Twins are not striking out.
- Well, when I say the Twins aren't striking out I don't mean everyone. _elm_n is striking out in 31.3% of his plate appearances. I wonder how Young's theories on hitting differ from Joe Mauer's?
- Another _elm_n fact. Just when you thought it could not get any worse-- take a look at his BABIP. Do you think that .361 avg is sustainable? Yeah, me neither.
- Joe Mauer, Matt Tolbert, and Nick Punto have been intentionally walked the exact same number of times so far this season; once.
- According to fangraphs, the top 4 Twins hitters in "clutch situations" this season are Tolbert, Crede, Punto, and Redmond. The bottom 4? Mauer, Span, Harris, Morneau.
No wonder the Twins are so mediocre, all of their "best" players stink when the game is on the line.
June 30th, 2009 by socaltwinsfan
Categories: MLB, Minnesota Twins, This Day in History
Tags:
Respond: Write the First Letter to the Editor
| 1965 |
Fred Newman pitched a two-hitter as the Angels beat the Twins 5-0. Going into the ninth inning, Newman had no strikeouts and had induced 19 groundball outs from the Twins. Newman then struck out Rich Rollins looking and Zoilo Versalles swinging before getting his 20th groundout from Sandy Valdespino to end the game. |
| 1987 |
Bert Blyleven was leading 3-0 with two outs and no one on base in the ninth inning before he allowed consecutive singles to the Royals' Bo Jackson and pinch hitter Thad Bosley. Jamie Quirk then reached on an error to make it 3-1 and closer Jeff Reardon replaced Blyleven. Reardon allowed an infield single to Willie Wilson to load the bases before getting Kevin Seitzer to end the game and leave George Brett in the on-deck circle. After the game, there were nasy rumors that Blyleven didn't want to complete the game bad enough and was looking at the bullpen, but I'm sure they were just rumors. |
| 1991 |
Jack Morris pitched a six-hitter in a 3-0 victory over Jack McDowell and the White Sox that ended the Twins' four-game losing streak. |
| 1995 |
At the Metrodome, Indians designated hitter Eddie Murray collected his 3,000th career hit off Twins right-hander Mike Trombley in the sixth inning to become the 20th player to accomplish the feat. 'Steady Eddie' joined Pete Rose as only the second switch-hitter to reach the milestone. The Indians beat the Twins 4-1. |
| 1996 |
The Twins defeated the Royals 5-2 as Minnesota LF Marty Cordova had his hitting streak stopped at 23 games. Twins rookie Matt Lawton hit a grand slam for his third career home run. |
See, science has its uses.
Since concluding the study, Greening says he now instructs all couples seeking fertility advice to start by having more sex. "Some of the older men look a little concerned," he said. "But the younger ones seem quite happy about it."
Rochester is 37-40, fifth in the IL North, 7.5 games behind Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Tuesday
The Red Wings led 6-1 after seven, but lost to Columbus 7-6 in ten innings in Rochester. Columbus scored in the first on three singles. Rochester took a 3-1 lead in the fourth when Steven Tolleson singled, Justin Huber walked, Danny Valencia doubled, and Rochester got two RBI ground outs. The Red Wings stretched the lead to 4-1 in the sixth when David Winfree walked and scored on a Dustin Martin triple. Rochester got two more in the seventh on a double by Trevor Plouffe and singles by Steven Tolleson, Danny Valencia, and David Winfree. In the eighth, however, a tiring Anthony Swarzak allowed a single and a walk with one out. Rob Delaney came in, and could not get the job done. Two singles and two home runs brought in a total of six runs in the inning, and put the Clippers ahead 7-6. Steven Tolleson hit a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth to send the game to extra innings. In the Columbus tenth, two walks and a single produced the game-winning run. Matt Macri opened the bottom of the tenth with a double, but was thrown out trying to stretch it to a triple, and there was no further threat. Tolleson, Valencia, and Martin each had three hits, with Tolleson scoring three times. Anthony Swarzak pitched 7.1 innings, giving up three runs on six hits. The loss went to Juan Morillo, who pitched the last two innings.
Wednesday
A four-run fourth boosted Columbus to a 9-5 victory over the Red Wings. Rochester took a 1-0 lead in the first when Tommy Watkins doubled and scored on a couple of ground balls. The Clippers took a 2-1 lead in the second on a double, a single, a walk, and an error, but the Red Wings tied it in the bottom of the second on Danny Valencia single and a Brock Peterson double. In the fourth, however, Columbus batted around, scoring four times on a home run, a double, three singles, and a passed ball. Rochester got one back in the fifth when Drew Butera hit his first homer of the year to make it 6-3. The Clippers, however, got single runs in the sixth, seventh, and ninth to take a commanding 9-3 lead. The Red Wings put together a two-out, ninth-inning rally to make the final score look better--Dustin Martin walked, and Peterson, Butera, and Watkins all singled to produce two runs. Watkins had three hits and Peterson and Butera each had two. Philip Humber took the loss, giving up six runs (four earned) on nine hits in 3.1 innings. No reliever particularly distinguished himself, although Tim Lahey did strike out three in 2.2 innings in which he gave up one run and two hits.
Thursday
The Red Wings again put together a ninth-inning rally, but this time it meant something, as they scored three in the ninth to defeat Columbus 8-7. The Clippers scored four in the top of the first on three doubles, two singles, and an error, but Rochester got three of them back in the bottom of the first when Tommy Watkins and Alexi Casilla singled and Justin Huber hit a three-run homer. While each team had chances to score, there were no more runs until the sixth, when the Red Wings took a short-lived 5-4 lead on an error and singles by Brock Peterson, Watkins, and Casilla. In the seventh, however, Columbus scored three times on three walks and a bases-clearing double to go ahead 7-5. It looked as if that would be enough, but Rochester opened the ninth with back-to-back homers by Justin Huber and Danny Valencia to tie the score. With one out, Dustin Martin doubled, Peterson was intentionally walked, Jeff Christy was unintentionally walked to load the bases, and Watkins delivered a single to drive home the winning run. Watkins, Casilla, Huber, and Valencia each had three hits, with Huber driving in four runs. Martin contributed two hits. Jeff Manship gave up four runs (three earned) on ten hits in six innings. Rob Delaney pitched a scoreless ninth to get the win.
Friday
A four-run eighth put away a 6-1 Rochester victory over the Clippers. The Red Wings got two on in each of the first two innings, but did not score until the third, when singles by Steven Tolleson, Danny Valencia, and Matt Macri combined with a throwing error to produce two runs. Columbus got one back in the fourth on a double and a single. The two teams then combined to put only one runner on base until the bottom of the eighth, when Rochester got its four-run inning: Alexi Casilla doubled and Tolleson singled, Justin Huber drove in one with a sacrifice fly (Tolleson to second) and Valencia singled to drive in another, and Macri doubled and Tommy Watkins singled to each drive in one more. The Clippers got two on with two out in the ninth, but Jesse Crain recovered to get a strikeout and preserve the victory. Brian Duensing got the winning, giving up only one run on six hits in eight innings. Jesse Crain pitched a scoreless ninth, giving up a hit and a walk.
Saturday
The Red Wings came from behind late to defeat the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees 6-5 in Rochester. The Yankees got a run in the first on a single, a stolen base, and another single. The Red Wings took a 2-1 lead after two on a home run by Trevor Plouffe, a single and a stolen base by Matt Macri, and a Drew Butera double. Justin Huber homered in the third to build the lead to 3-1. There was no more scoring until the seventh, when the Yankees sent ten to the plate and scored four times to take a 5-3 lead. The Yankees got only three hits in the inning (two doubles and a single) but were aided by four walks and a wild pitch. They missed a chance for more by leaving the bases loaded, however, and that miss would come back to haunt them. In the bottom of the seventh, Rochester cut the lead to 5-4 on a walk to Macri, another double by Butera, and a ground out. In the eighth, Danny Valencia homered to tie the score. With one out in the ninth, David Winfree walked and went to third on a Jason Pridie single, and Alexi Casilla then singled to bring him in with the winning run. Steven Tolleson, Plouffe, and Butera each had two hits. Kevin Mulvey pitched 6.2 innings, and did better than his line of five runs on eight hits would indicate, as most of the runs came when he was tiring in the seventh. Rob Delaney was unscored upon in 1.1 innings, although he walked in one of Mulvey's runs in the seventh. Tim Lahey pitched a scoreless ninth to get the win.
Sunday
A four-run eighth lifted Rochester to a 6-2 victory over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Justin Huber hit a solo homer to give the Red Wings a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Austin Jackson answered with a solo shot of his own to tie the score in the fourth. Rochester had no more hits until the sixth, when singles by Jason Pridie, Alexi Casilla, and Huber gave the Red Wings a 2-1 lead. Rochester put runners on second and third with one out in the seventh, but did not score again until the eighth. Alexi Casilla reached on a two-base error and Steven Tolleson reached with a bunt single. A wild pitch put runners on second and third, leading to an intentional walk to Danny Valencia. Trevor Plouffe hit a sacrifice fly to score one, and Brock Peterson hit a three-run homer to put the game away. The Yankees got a double and single to score one in the ninth, but that was as close as they came. Peterson had three hits and Huber two. Anthony Swarzak got the win, giving up a run on only two hits in seven innings. Jesse Crain pitched the last two innings to get the save.
Monday
Game 1
It's tough to win when you don't score, as the Red Wings found out as they had their four-game winning streak snapped by Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 5-0. The Yankees got two doubles and a single to take a 2-0 lead in the third. Rochester got two runners on for the only time in the sixth on a leadoff walk and a two-out single, but a ground out ended the threat. Two singles and a homer gave the Yankees a three-run sixth, and that was that. The Red Wings again could not solve Ivan Nova, getting only two hits, with Matt Macri's two-out, seventh-inning double the only extra-base blow. Philip Humber went all the way, giving up five runs on eight hits in six innings of work.
Game 2
It's almost as tough to win when you only score one, as Rochester discovered as they fell to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 3-1. The Red Wings had a couple of early threats, getting a leadoff double by Jason Pridie in the first and singles by David Winfree and Matt Macri in the second, but the Yankees scored first, when a walk, a double, a ground out, and a sacrifice fly resulted in two second-inning runs. The Yankees built the lead to 3-0 in the third on a solo home run. A Danny Valencia double and an error put runners on first and third with one out for Rochester in the fourth, but they again failed to score. The Red Wings' only run came in the seventh: Dustin Martin singled to open the inning, and a walk to Macri and a Brock Peterson single loaded the bases with none out. Trevor Plouffe delivered a one-out single to score one, but that was it, as the last two batters failed to even make contact and the game was over. Rochester outhit the Yankees 7-3 on the game, with the seven hits scattered among seven different players. Jason Jones had the six-inning, complete-game loss.
Statistical notes: The Red Wings are tied for sixth in runs, tenth in doubles, second in triples, and tenth in home runs. They are seventh in walks and seventh in stolen bases. They are tied for seventh in OBP, tenth in SLG, sixth in AVG, and tenth in OPS.
Red Wings pitchers are thirteenth in ERA, thirteenth in fewest hits allowed, tied for sixth in fewest home runs allowed, and twelfth in fewest walks allowed. They are tied for seventh in strikeouts and thirteenth in WHIP.
Dustin Martin is tied for third in games (74) and fifth in stolen bases (17). Jason Pridie is tied for second in at-bats (288). David Winfree is tied for fourth in doubles (19). Kevin Mulvey is tied for second in starts (15), tied for first in shutouts (1) and tied for third in innings (89.2). Jason Jones is tied for second in starts (15).
Notes: Bill Smith was in town for the Columbus series... Jeff Manship was promoted to Rochester, making his debut in the Thursday game...Red Wings pitching coach Bobby Cuellar has been named a coach for the World team in the All-Star Futures game...Rochester broadcaster Josh Whetzel will call the play-by-play for the AAA All-Star game...Jason Pridie returned to Rochester Friday. He took the roster spot of Reid Santos, who was placed on the disabled list. MiLB.com says he has a strained hamstring; the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports it as a sprained ankle...Five former Red Wings were inducted into the International League Hall of Fame Saturday: Harry Walker, Red Schoendienst, Bill Short, Steve Demeter, and Ed Stevens...The Red Wings are 20-23 at home this season...As you know, Jesse Crain was sent down to Rochester, and Bob Keppel promoted to Minnesota...Denard Span was 2-for-6 in his two-game rehab stint in Rochester.
June 29th, 2009 by spookymilk
Categories: Miscellaneous
Tags: Guest Writers, Harmon Killebrew, Kansas City Royals, Luke Hochevar, Minnesota Twins, Nick Blackburn, spookymilk
Respond: 368 LTEs
The Twins have one win on Monday this year. May 4th. One. Thirty-nine victories, and these clowns have a single Monday win. Here are the Twins' records going into my Game Logs:
April 13th: 3-4
April 27th: 9-10
May 4th: 12-13
May 18th: 18-20
May 25: 22-23
June 8th: 28-30
June 20th: 35-34
June 29th: 39-38
I know that would work for any day of the week, really, but there you have it: not a single one of them is as far as three games off of .500. So what's the deal? Are the Twins really under their heads, or can they be penciled in for 81 wins? Or, and I'm just reaching here, are the Twins maybe just a reliever or two away from being runaway favorites in this division?
The good news lately is that the Twins have been performing on the road. Probably the best way to keep up a trend like that is to visit Kaufmann stadium and the inexplicable preseason darlings the Kansas City Royals. Even better: do it against right-handed Luke Hochevar.
RHP Nick Blackburn ERA 3.11; xFIP 4.99
RHP Luke Hochevar ERA 5.87; xFIP 4.91
Huh. I knew those xFIPs would bring these guys closer together, but I didn't realize they'd leapfrog. But because Blackburn leads Hochevar in LOB percentage - 74% to 54.5% - that does tend to muddy the picture a bit.
Despite the hilarious 41 Ks in 101 innings for Blackburn, he's found plenty of success in 2009 thanks to giving up just seven homeruns and managing a Slugging Against of .385. Unsustainable? I keep saying so to my wife, and she keeps laughing and pointing. Nah, I'm just kidding...my wife doesn't love me enough to watch baseball with me.
Anyway, the further you dig into Blackburn's stat package, the more you figure the guy has a deal with the devil. It doesn't necessarily look like the bottom drops out tonight, what with the Royals being the lowest-scoring team in the AL. Still, whenever Nick's on the mound, I wonder.
Hochevar's numbers suggest he's a lot better than he looks, but now that everyone's sufficiently depressed, I'll back off.
Besides, it's Harmon Killebrew's birthday, so the Twins own this one! It's not like he ever played for the Royals or anything. ...right?
The Twins are 15-9, tied for third in the B. C. B. C., 1.5 games behind the White Sox.
Monday
Rained out
Tuesday
The Twins led all the way in defeating the Orioles 6-3. The Twins scored in the top of the first without a hit, as Juan Blanco was hit by a pitch, Romy Trinidad walked, Kelvin Ortiz was hit by a pitch, and Yancarlo Franco walked. They went up 3-0 in the second when Victor Arias and Candido Pimentel singled, advanced a base on an error, and scored on a Jairo Rodriguez double. The Orioles got back in the game at 3-2 in the third when three singles and an error produced two runs. The Twins got another run without a hit in the fifth when Ortiz was hit by a pitch, went to second on a walk to Franco, and scored on a pair of ground outs. The Orioles got the run back in the bottom of the fifth on a single, a productive out, and an error to make the score 4-3. The score stayed there until the ninth, when the Twins scored two on singles by Blanco and Trinidad, an error, and a two-run single by Alexandre de Oliveira to put the game away. Rodriguez and Victor Arias each had two hits for the Twins. Cesar Ciurcina got the win, giving up three runs (two earned) on six hits in six innings. Francisco Nunez pitched three perfect innings for a save.
Wednesday
Two Twins pitchers combined on an eight-hit shutout of the White Sox as the Twins won 2-0. The Twins scored single runs in their first and last bats. They scored one in the bottom of the first when Candido Pimentel walked, went to third on a Juan Blanco single, and scored on a ground out. They scored in the eighth on a double by Yancarlo Franco and a single by Ernesto Ciprian. In between, the Twins got only one hit, but they did not need any more, as Pedro Guerra and Orlando Villaroel kept the White Sox scoreless. The hits were scattered well--the White Sox only twice had two hits in an inning, and in one of those the hit was erased by a double play. It also helped that the Twins made no errors and the two pitchers combined for only one walk. Ciprian had two hits to lead the offense. Guerra got the win, giving up six hits in his six innings. Villaroel pitched the last three innings to get the save.
Thursday
The Twins scored six runs in the last three innings to put away a 9-2 win over the Indians. The Twins got on the board in the bottom of the first when Candido Pimentel walked, stole second, went to third on a pop fly, and scored on Yorby Martinez's sacrifice fly. Pimentel created another run in the third when he doubled and scored on two ground outs. The Indians were given a run in the fourth on a walk, a hit batsman, a ground out, and a wild pitch. The Twins went ahead 3-1 in the fifth when Juan Blanco singled, stole second, and scored on a Romy Trinidad single. The Indians closed to 3-2 in the sixth on a triple and a ground out. The Twins finished with three two-run innings to take control. In the seventh, Blanco again singled and stole second, Randy Pina followed with a double, and Yancarlo Franco singled to make the score 5-2. In the eighth, Emilio Sepulveda singled, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a Blanco single. Blanco then stole second, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a single by Yorby Martinez to increase the lead to 7-2. In the ninth, Felix Martinez walked, Sepulveda singled, they advanced on a ground out, and both runners scored on a botched pickoff attempt. Blanco had four hits and scored three runs. Sepulveda had three hits, Pimentel had two hits and scored three runs, Trinidad had two hits, and Yorby Martinez drove in three runs. Manuel Soliman pitched five innings, giving up a run on five hits and striking out six to get the win. Felix Caro pitched two scoreless innings.
Friday
A pair of three-run innings led the Twins to a 6-3 victory over the Reds. The two teams combined for only one baserunner in the first three and a half innings, but in the bottom of the fourth, the Reds scored one on a single, a stolen base, and another single. The Twins came back with three in the fifth when Yancarlo Franco reached on an error, Jose Murillo walked, Ernesto Ciprian singled to score one, a passed ball scored another, and Juan Blanco doubled to score a third. The Reds tied in in the sixth on three singles and a sacrifice fly, but the Twins scored three more in the seventh when, with two out, Candido Pimentel singled, Blanco walked, and a wild pickoff throw scored Pimentel and sent Blanco to third. Yorby Martinez then walked, and another wild pickoff throw scored Blanco and moved Martinez to second. Jairo Rodriguez then doubled to score Martinez. The Reds had only one baserunner in the last three innings. Rodriguez had three hits in the game. Renzo Reverol gave up three runs on five hits in six innings, striking out ten, to get the win. Frank Frias, Luis Nunez, and Ricardo Arevalo each pitched a scoreless inning, with Arevalo getting a save. Twins pitchers struck out fourteen for the game.
Saturday
The Rockies scored two in the ninth to snap the Twins' four-game winning streak with a 5-3 victory. The Twins scored two in the bottom of the first when Jairo Rodriguez and Kelvin Ortiz singled, two wild pitches scored one run, and Felix Martinez hit a sacrifice fly to score a second run. The Rockies tied it at two in the fourth on three singles and a sacrifice fly, but the Twins went back in front 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth when Ortiz walked and Lesther Galvan doubled. The Rockies tied it in the fifth on a single and two errors. The score stayed even until the ninth, when a single, a sacrifice bunt, another single, another sacrifice bunt, and a double resulted in two runs and a 5-3 win for the Rockies. The Twins, who had fielded well in their winning streak, made four errors in the game. Galvan had two hits for the Twins. Wilson Sanchez pitched six innings, giving up three runs (one earned) on seven hits and striking out seven. Francisco Nunez pitched two scoreless innings of relief. Eddy Santana took the loss.
Sunday
Off Day
Statistical notes: The Twins are tied for twenty-sixth (out of thirty-three) in runs, tied for twelfth in doubles, thirty-third in triples, and tied for twenty-fourth in home runs. They are twentieth in walks and twenty-third in stolen bases. They are twenty-sixth in OBP, twenty-eighth in SLG, twenty-fourth in AVG, and twenty-ninth in OPS.
Twins pitchers are second in ERA, fourth in fewest hits allowed, tied for sixth in fewest home runs allowed, and first in fewest walks allowed. They are tied for fourteenth in strikeouts and second in WHIP.
Pedro Guerra is tied for first in ERA (0 earned runs in twenty-five innings) and tied for sixth in WHIP (0.62). Eddy Santana is tied for seventh in saves (4). Cesar Ciurcina is tied for first in WHIP (0.62). Renzo Reverol is tied for sixth in WHIP (0.76).
June 29th, 2009 by socaltwinsfan
Categories: MLB, Minnesota Twins, This Day in History
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Respond: 2 LTEs
| 1969 |
Tony Oliva collected eight consecutive hits in the Twins' doubleheader split with the Royals. Kansas City took the opener 7-2 behind homers by Mike Fiore and Bob Oliver. Oliva flied out his first time up, then stroked three singles. In the Twins' 12-2 win in Game 2, Oliva hit two homers, a double and two singles, driving in five runs. |
| 1984 |
Twins rookie Andre David hit a two-run home run off Jack Morris in his first major league at-bat to spark Minnesota to a 5-3 win over Detroit before 44,619. It is the only home run David will hit in the big leagues and stopped Morris' 11-game win streak over the Twins. Detroit won the nitecap, 7-5, as Kirk Gibson started the scoring with a two-run homer in the first and ended it with a two-run homer in the ninth. The Tigers also scored in the second on back-to-back homers by Chet Lemon and Rupert Jones. |
| 1989 |
Padres general manager Jack McKeon traded his son-in-law, pitcher Greg Booker, to the Twins for pitcher Freddie Toliver. Booker had been booed in every appearance but will make just six appearances for the Twins before being sold to the Giants at the end of the season. Toliver will get in nine games with no decisions. |
| 1991 |
In an 8-4 loss to the White Sox, the Twins' Kirby Puckett collected his 1,500th career hit, off winner Greg Hibbard. Scott Erickson was the loser, ending his 12-game win streak. |
| 2008 |
The Twins' Kevin Slowey pitched a three-hitter in a 5-0 victory over Ben Sheets and the Brewers. Slowey struck out eight and walked none in a game that lasted 2 hours, 5 minutes. |
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