Saving the best for last.

Well, Tommy Milone pitched better, although still not really well.  Again, your recapper didn't see a lot of the game due to other obligations, but one gets the impression that he hasn't had a whole lot of luck.  In fact, it seems like the Twins didn't get a whole lot of luck in this entire series, with the Royals getting an awful lot of hits on balls not hit particularly hard.

Of course, Milone looks like a pitcher who's susceptible to that sort of thing.  He seems to be a pitch-to-contact guy, neither walking nor striking out a lot of batters.  A pitcher like that is going to have games where that contact turns into a lot of hits, even when the balls are not hit hard.  Also, of course, a pitcher like that is dependent on his defense, and while putting Schafer in left rather than Willingham has helped, the Twins still don't have an outstanding defense.

Speaking of Schafer, he is now hitting .328 in 64 at-bats since joining the Twins.  It would be wonderful to think that he's turned a corner since joining the Twins, that he's a good player who just needed regular playing time to shine.  It would also be wonderful to think that five hundred people are going to show up at my church in Gettysburg this Sunday.  Unfortunately, there's nothing in Schafer's record that suggests he can keep this up.  He hit .253 in 360 AA at-bats.  He hit .225 in 453 AAA at-bats.  He's hit .227 in 1152 major league at-bats.  He'll turn 28 next week, so he's not a young player who's improving.  It's great to see a player on a hot streak, but one assumes that's all this is.  One hopes that the Twins aren't fooled by it.

We should say something about that awesome tenth inning.  Oswaldo Arcia started it with his third triple of the season.  A pair of walks (one intentional) loaded the bases.  Nunez singled in one, Schafer two, Dozier doubled in two, Suzuki one, and the next thing you knew, a 5-5 tie had turned into an 11-5 victory.  Bruce Chen, who's been pretty awful this year and may finally be at the end of the line, took the loss.

That big tenth inning, of course, gives the Twins Momentum.  And as we all know from listening to broadcasters, Momentum is all-important in sports.  You can't see it, you can't touch it, but it's a powerful force.  When you have Momentum, there's no stopping you.  In fact, Momentum is so powerful that Trevor May has no choice but to pitch well tonight.  He couldn't avoid doing so even if he wanted to.  We've won the first game in our season-ending thirty-game winning streak!  We're still on track for 88-74!