NEW YORK 5, MINNESOTA 3 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Friday, May 10.
Batting stars: Doug Mientkiewicz was 3-for-3 with a walk. Jacque Jones was 2-for-5. Brian Buchanan was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his third.
Pitching star: Tony Fiore struck out five in three shutout innings, giving up no hits and one walk.
Opposition stars: Bernie Williams was 3-for-5. Derek Jeter was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his fifth. David Wells pitched 6.2 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on nine hits and one walk with six strikeouts.
The game: A throwing error on Jeter allowed the Twins to score a run in the first inning and take a 1-0 lead. The Yankees tied it in the top of the third on Williams' RBI single, but Buchanan hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the third to put Minnesota ahead 3-1. That was as good as it would get for the Twins, though. Jeter hit a two-run homer in the fifth to tie the score. Later in the fifth, Jorge Posada put New York ahead with a run-scoring double and a run was walked in still later in the inning, making the score 5-3. Minnesota did not advance a man past first base after that.
WP: Wells (5-1). LP: Eric Milton (4-3). S: Mariano Rivera (11).
Notes: Buchanan was again in right field...Dustan Mohr got the call at DH, going 0-for-4 to make his average .311...Maybe Buchanan was a better outfielder than I remember, and I confess that I don't understand defensive stats very well, but I don't know why you wouldn't do that the other way, with Mohr in right and Buchanan as the DH...Corey Koskie was apparently injured, as Casey Blake was called up and made the start at third base, going 1-for-4. He would stay with the Twins through May 22, then go back to AAA...Jay Canizaro started at second base, going 0-for-3...Jones raised his average to .310...Torii Hunter was 1-for-4 to make his average .348...Milton pitched just four innings-plus, giving up five runs on ten hits and two walks with two strikeouts...Tony Fiore was awesome through this point in the season. Seven appearances, 17.1 innings, 1 run, 6 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts, 0.49 ERA, 0.63 WHIP. Prior to this, he had thrown 24.2 innings in the big leagues with an ERA of 7.30. He wouldn't keep it up, obviously--in fact, he would give up runs in his next four appearances--but 2002 was easily his best year in the majors, and in fact the only good year he had.
Record: The Twins were 22-14, in first place, a game ahead of Chicago.
Maybe Mohr had a minor injury. Or maybe Gardy also didn't understand defensive stats very well.
I wonder if Casey Blake would have blossomed with the Twins had he stayed. Would have been nice to have him after Koskie left
I think yes. He did well in AAA in both the IL and PCL. He appeared in only 49 games across three teams, totaling 125 PAs, in four years. Straightaway in Cleveland he hit .257/.312/.411. It's possible he learned something only available in Cleveland but it's also likely he needed more than 15 consecutive games without riding a bus back to AAA.
You're right, he'd done enough in AAA and was ready go come up. The question is where the Twins would've played him if he'd stayed. Koskie was at third through 2004, and it's hard for me to see them moving him to play Blake. They could've tried him at DH or in the outfield, I suppose. He did play right for the Indians in 2006.