Game 30 Recap: Twins alot Cleveland not enough.

Mike Pelfrey was solid, Torii Hunter had his best day of the year at the plate, and the Twins continue to win more than they lose in a 9-3 romp over Cleveland.

I suppose this is a good night to have a discussion about Hunter. Most people, including me, did not like the signing. He is old, not a great defensive player, and threw players under the bus. He started off the season terribly, but has come on strong lately (batting avg up to .280 hitting more doubles and HRs). I am wondering if anyone has changed their opinion on Hunter? Or even softened their stance  to a grudging acceptance? I kind of fall into that camp. But then ii will take to Twitter and I just want him to go away.

Anyway, Hunter went 4-4 with 3 extra base hits (2 doubles and a HR) to lead the Twins offense.  He would have had 3 doubles but was thrown out by a good distance trying to stretch a single into a double.

Pelfrey had a wobbly start and Cleveland struck for 2 runs in the 3rd inning. but settled down and ended up going 7  innings. I'll take that from Pelf every start. Although the zero strikeouts are a bit worrying.

NOTES

-The Twins scored in 6 of the 9 innings.

- JR Graham finally got the Twins off the no strikeout schneid. The 1 team strikeout matches a season low, done two other times .

- The Twins had 6 doubles that is a season high.

- Every Twins batter had either a run scored, or an RBI

- Hunter now has 473 career doubles, tied for 74th all time with Carlos Delgado, Jimmy Rollins, Dwight Evans, and Ted Simmons.

- The Twins are 8-2 in the last 10 games. While Cleveland drops to a .367 win percentage, last place in the AL.

Happy Birthday–May 8

Dan Brouthers (1858)
Edd Roush (1893)
Turkey Stearnes (1901)
Mike Cuellar (1937)
Steve Braun (1948)
Orestes Destrade (1962)
Todd Greene (1971)
John Maine (1981)
Adrian Gonzalez (1982)
Sean Gilmartin (1990)

Outfielder Turkey Stearns was a star in the Negro Leagues from 1923-1940, posting a slugging percentage of .619.

Mike Cuellar pitched in AAA in the Twins’ organization in 1961.  He does not seem to have belonged to the Twins, however.  It may be that he was temporarily loaned to them, a practice which was not uncommon in the 1960s.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–May 8